Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Monday accused BJP president Amit Shah of trying to destabilise the left government on Sabarimala issue and said the soil of the southern state was not the right place for executing his plans.
Vijayan said the CPI(M)-led LDF government would not let anyone convert Sabarimala temple into a centre of unrest. “Heard that Shah has done certain things in certain places. He may have many such wishes. But the soil of this state is different and it is not the right place for executing his plans,” Vijayan said at an LDF rally here.
Hitting out at Shah, the CPI(M) strongman said the people of Kerala would defeat the BJP presidents attempts to “destabilise the LDF government.” “Such attempts will be resisted strongly by the people of the state,” he said. People from all sections, including forward and backward communities, would rally together to resist such moves by Shah and the sangh parivar, he said.
Vijayan said his government, elected by the people of Kerala, was targeted by BJP and sangh parivar for trying to implement the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups into the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
“It is the responsibility of the government to implement the Supreme Court order. What else we can do in this matter?” he asked. Vijayan alleged that Shah and the sangh parivar were making “conscious efforts to create unrest in Kerala” when his government was following its constitutional responsibility to implement the Supreme Court verdict.
“We will not let anyone disturb peace in the state,” he said. The Chief Minister also assured Ayyappa devotees a peaceful Sabarimala pilgrimage when it opens. Shah Saturday extended full support to the protest by Ayyappa devotees against the LDF governments decision to implement the apex court order on entry of women of all age groups into Sabarimala temple, saying the Left government was trying to “suppress” the agitation by force.
Addressing party workers after inaugurating the district BJP office in Kannur, Shah had said the state government was using police force to challenge the protest by devotees. In a warning to Vijayan, he had said the effort by his government to clamp down on the agitation amounted to “playing with fire.”