Just a mates of days aft the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, organised astatine Pampa by the Travancore Devaswom Board, Pathanamthitta is gearing up to big yet different gathering of Ayyappa devotees astatine Pandalam connected Monday.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai is scheduled to inaugurate the event, named the Sabarimala Protection Summit, astatine 3 p.m. BJP person and MP Tejaswi Surya volition besides code the gathering.
According to E.S. Biju, spokesperson of the Hindu Aikya Vedi, representatives of implicit 120 assemblage organisations volition be the event, on with members of the Sabarimala Tantri household and 25 different Hindu monks. The proceedings volition statesman with a seminar connected ‘Devotion, Development, and Safety astatine Sabarimala,’ successful which astir 1,000 delegates are expected to participate. The evening conclave, helium added, volition spot the information of implicit 10,000 people.
Unlike the caller sangamam astatine Pampa, this lawsuit by Sangh Parivar-affiliated groups takes the signifier of a protestation against what they word ‘attempts by the Left authorities to thwart the elevation temple and its devotees.’
Pandalam Palace stance
This mobilisation by right-wing outfits draws wide parallels with the BJP’s governmental surge during the 2018 Sabarimala agitation. All eyes are present connected whether the Pandalam Palace, which abstained from the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, volition subordinate with this protestation event. The palace had cited rituals pursuing the demise of 2 household members arsenic the contiguous crushed for not attending the Sangamam, portion besides expressing discontent implicit the non-withdrawal of cases registered successful transportation with the protests against the Supreme Court’s ruling connected women’s introduction to the temple successful 2018.
Other assemblage organisations specified arsenic the Tantri Samajam and the Yogakshema Sabha excessively person raised akin demands. It is inactive not known which of these groups volition beryllium contiguous astatine the gathering connected Monday.
Strong presence
Pandalam, a municipality successful Pathanamthitta, is 1 of the lone 2 civic bodies successful the State presently ruled by the BJP. In the 2020 section assemblage elections, the BJP won Pandalam mostly connected the momentum gained from the 2018 Sabarimala protests. The party, which commands a beardown beingness successful and astir Pandalam, had besides retained powerfulness successful Kulanada, a neighbouring panchayat, pursuing a bid of protests related to the Sabarimala issue.
It, nevertheless remains to beryllium seen whether this latest circular of mobilisation by the Sangh Parivar volition bask the aforesaid traction today.
