Thiruvananthapuram: Two days after the LDF government held the Global Ayyappa Devotee Conclave in Pampa, Pathanamthitta district, where the Sabarimala temple is located, pitching it as a global pilgrimage centre and an inclusive space, another conference was organised Monday as a counter to the government’s event by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi and BJP to “protect” the temple.
Sabarimala Karma Samithi is an umbrella organisation that opposes women’s entry into the temple. The event was inaugurated by former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, and was attended by the party’s Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, Kerala unit chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and other party leaders from the state. Members of Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV), Kerala-based Hindu Right organisation, were also present, along with members of the Pandalam royal family.
Inaugurating the event, called Sabarimala Samrakshana Sangamam, in Pandalam, Annamalai said the Global Ayyappa Conclave had been organised by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, “who had earlier said there was no God”. The leader also targeted the state government for inviting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to its event.
“On 20 September, we saw one surprising event. In the name of Global Ayyappa Conference, the Kerala government organised an event gathering devotees. The important thing is who was invited, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who wanted to uproot Sanatan Dharma. His son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, had said Sanatan Dharma is like dengue, which should be eradicated. If Kerala’s Chief Minister is calling them, it’s apparent that the focus is not on the temple’s welfare, but on votes,” Annamalai remarked.
Notably, on Saturday, Kerala Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan had read out Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s letter wishing the event success.
The Global Ayyappa Conference, jointly organised by Kerala government and Travancore Devaswom Board Saturday, saw discussions on issues, like crowd management, religious tourism and the Rs 1,033-crore Sabarimala Master Plan project that aims to build infrastructural amenities in the temple. The event, held years after the 2019 Sabarimala protests, received criticism from opposition parties Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, who called it an “eyewash” ahead of the crucial local body elections this year.
Though Stalin himself did not attend the Kerala government’s event, Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister P.K. Sekhar Babu and IT Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan were present.
Annamalai said Monday that the Pinarayi government, which “used police force against devotees protecting the temple”, had no right to hold such a conference. He compared it to the Lord Muruga Conference in Tamil Nadu last year organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He added that devotees who had stood together in 2018-19 to protect Lord Ayyappa had come together again Monday.
“Let Lord Ayyappa be. Don’t mix him with politics. If they really care about Lord Ayyappa, they should withdraw the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court. To protect temples from politics, communists should be ousted from them,” he further said.
The two events have yet again put Sabarimala, the 2018 Supreme Court judgment, and the subsequent protests and their political importance, in the spotlight.
The apex court had delivered a landmark judgment in September 2018, allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine, sparking widespread criticism. The LDF government, which had initially supported the verdict and promised to uphold constitutional law, had come under attack from both BJP and Congress. The matter had escalated and led to widespread protests after two women of menstruating age entered the temple in January 2019. The BJP had, led by then state president K. Surendran, held statewide protest marches.
The issue had also turned political as in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had projected itself as a defender of Hindu faith and campaigned against the Left. Surendran had unsuccessfully contested from Pathanamthitta district against Congress’s Anto Antony, who had won with a margin of 84,462 votes. However, the election had cost the LDF the most, as it had lost 19 of the 20 seats it had contested against the Congress-led UDF.
Addressing the conclave Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi described Sabarimala as one of the most inclusive temples in the world, welcoming people of all faiths.
However, BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan Monday said the temple should not be developed with “concrete buildings”, but with faith and protection in mind, while providing basic amenities. He accused the government of using Sabarimala for revenue, and warned of threats to the temple from several groups.
“The chief minister said the temple is a space of inclusivity. Nobody has spoken about what that means. Sabarimala is a Hindu temple. We should pledge to protect it. We shouldn’t let it become a spot for tourism, secularism and trade. That is the message of this conference,” Kummanam said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)