The sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa shrine opened today with very few devotees turning up early.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala today attacked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the police action against Lord Ayyappa devotees at Sabarimala Sannidhanam -the inner courtyard of the temple, and asked if the state was under the rule of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The senior Congress leader alleged the Kerala government was trying to "brand" Lord Ayyappa devotees as Sangh Parivar activists and thus helping the RSS recruit people to its fold.

"It is police high-handedness. Innocent devotees who sought shelter at Valiya Nadappandhal (covered pathway) were also arrested. They all are not Sangh Parivar activists who reached there to create trouble. Is Kerala under the rule of Hitler?" Mr Chennithala told reporters in Kochi.

He urged the government to take action only against protesters who reach the hill shrine for disrupting peace there.

Arresting real devotees, who climb the hills to offer prayers, could not be accepted, Mr Chennithala said.

The temple had opened on the evening of November 16 for the 64-day annual pilgrimage season as the stand-off continued over the entry of menstrual age women into the Sabarimala shrine following a Supreme Court order from September 28.