Thiruvananthapuram: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs have submitted a letter to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan, demanding that the state government withdraw every case filed against devotees in connection with the Sabarimala agitation. They also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Sabarimala gold heist case.
BJP MLAs Urge Immediate Action
On Tuesday, BJP MLA V Muraleedharan stated that Satheesan, who had previously demanded a CBI inquiry into the Sabarimala gold heist as the Leader of Opposition, should take urgent steps to refer the case to the central agency without delay. Muraleedharan highlighted that in connection with the protest over women’s entry to the Sabarimala temple, a total of 2,624 cases have been registered in Kerala. These cases involve 29,119 persons, he added.
Classification of Cases Criticized
“It is learnt that the government is currently considering withdrawing 1,047 non-serious cases. The classification of cases against devotees who protested to safeguard Sabarimala customs into ‘serious’ and ‘non-serious’ was done by police officers to suit the previous government’s interests. Such a split in protest-related cases is unscientific and hostile to the community of believers. If justice is to be delivered to devotees, the government must be ready to withdraw all cases linked to this issue unconditionally. Otherwise, the public will realize that every promise the Congress has made to the people of Kerala over the past eight years was false,” said the letter submitted to the Chief Minister by BJP MLAs Muraledharan, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and B B Gopakumar.
Impact on Devotees
The letter further stated that it was ordinary Lord Ayyappa devotees in Kerala who took to the streets chanting sacred invocations. Instead of acknowledging their burning anguish and faith, the administration rewarded them with thousands of fabricated cases. Today, because of these cases, thousands of young people and members of ordinary families are forced to run from court to court. Those named as accused have no criminal background of any kind, they emphasized.
