Kerala BJP president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai courted controversy when he said that the Sabarimala temple chief priest Kandararu Rajeevararu Tantri consulted him before threatening to close the sanctum sanctorum if women of menstruating age entered the temple.
At a meeting of the party’s Yuva Morcha event in Kozhikode on Sunday, Mr. Pillai said that the priest had called him asking if closing the temple would amount to any contempt of court. “I told him that such a charge will not stand. Also, if that happens, I will also be charged with the same offence. Thousands of our party workers too will be with us,” he said. It was the Tantri’s plan that perturbed the police and put the government in a dilemma,” he was quoted as saying as saying by the Hindu.
His comments drew strong reactions from the opposition parties but Pillai, who is also a well-known advocate practicing at the Kerala High Court, later defended himself by saying that the priest had only called to seek a legal clarification.
Earlier, amidst huge protests against the entry of women of menstrual age in the Lord Ayyappa shrine, Tantri had threatened to shut down the sanctum sanctorum it women between the ages of 10-15 were allowed inside the temple.
Meanwhile, in a video surfaced online Mr. Pillai could be heard talking to Tantri about the possible legal outcome of the Sabarimala agitation.
“Sabarimala issue is a golden opportunity for us,” he had told the party workers. The agitation was “BJP’s agenda”.
His remarks received a wide range of criticism from various parties. Kerala CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan lashed out at Pillai for his comments and demanded a high-level probe into the matter. He called the Sabarimala agitation “all conspiracies” by the BJP.
The agitation was “well planned” by BJP and their successful attempt into influencing the priest is a “serious” issue, he said reports Deccan Chronicle.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said that BJP’s real agenda has been exposed through the video.
The Sabarimala temple will be opened on Tuesday for a special puja.
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