Police foresee no let-up in intensity of anti-government protests by BJP

The State police are bracing themselves for a bruising season of confrontation with political outfits opposed to the entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 to Sabarimala.

Law enforcers said they saw no let up in the intensity of anti-government protests unleashed by the BJP in connection with the entry of women to Sabarimala.

The black flag protests against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kozhikode and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran in Kannur on Monday and the stoning of a police station at Thodupuzha were clear signs of escalation.

The police also faced protests at the Nadappandal in the Sannidhanam and the Maniyar armed reserve camp where officers detained the agitators.

The BJP has raised the stakes in the “battle for Sabarimala” with its top leaders poised to visit the temple in the company of supporters in the coming days. V. Muraleedharan and Nalin Kumar Katil, both MPs, are expected to reach Nilackal with party workers on Tuesday.

They are poised to launch a door-to-door signature campaign in a bid to muster public opinion against the government.

The Supreme Court’s refusal on Monday to entertain any plea to review its September 28 decision allowing women of all ages to worship at the overwhelmingly male only forest temple till the pilgrimage season ended on January 22 was cold comfort for the apparently beleaguered police force. The police are now saddled with the onerous task of providing security to 1,000-odd women who have expressed their intent to visit Sabarimala via the department’s online queue management system.

The police said they would not roll back the security measures in place at Sabarimala.

Law enforcers would not allow protesters in the guise of pilgrims to lay siege to the Nadappandal. They would only permit women, children, and aged persons to stay overnight. Others with coupons for offering ghee during the 3 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. interval would have to pitch camp at the designated area near the Malikappuram temple.