Sabarimala Crisis: BJP Ups The Ante, To Stage Indefinite Fast In Front Of Kerala State Secretariat In Bid To Take On CPM

On 3 December, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary A N Radhakrishnan will start an indefinite hunger strike outside the Kerala state secretariat demanding the withdrawal of fabricated cases against party leaders.

After the Supreme Court’s recent verdict, Sabarimala temple has become a battleground for chaos and has witnessed tense days on several occasions in the last month after protests against young women entering the temple by devotees, Hindu organisations and the BJP.

Initially, the BJP Sabarimala action plan didn’t include a hunger strike. It included giving memberships to those who join the party over the temple issue, collecting one crore signatures from across the state, and honouring senior Sabarimala pilgrims (known as guruswamis).

“We want peace to prevail at the temple. At the same time, the agitation cannot be abandoned midway. I understand that activists of Sabarimala Action Council, an umbrella of 41 Hindu organisations, would be at the temple during the pilgrim season to ensure that no young women visit the temple,” an RSS leader as reported by Indian Express.

State BJP president P S Sreedharan Pillai said that the agitation in the state capital would be against CPM’s bid to destroy the temple.