Sabarimala temple: 15,000 police personnel are on duty in and around the Sabarimala temple.
After Congress, the Centre took a turn today at inspecting the facilities for pilgrims at Kerala's Sabarimala hill shrine. The conclusion was similar. Union Minister KJ Alphons accused the Left-led state government of running a "dictatorship" and ignoring his recommendations made after a couple of earlier visits. "A situation worse than emergency is happening here, the devotees are not allowed to go up. Section 144 is imposed for no reason," added the minister, who arrived at the shrine the morning after midnight violence when the police cracked down on protesters.
Around 70 people were arrested yesterday after slogan-shouting protesters, in devotees' attire, gathered near the sanctum sanctorum after the temple had closed for the night.
"This is like Stalin-era in Soviet Union... they are determined to say you don't have the right to faith. They want to make sure that pilgrims who come don't have basic facilities," Mr Alphons told NDTV.
The condition of the facilities on way to the temple, which draws around 30 million pilgrims annually, he said, were "tragic, pathetic, unacceptable". Questioning the lack of basic infrastructure, he said, "We (the Centre) have given 100 crores. They haven't spent one rupee. This is pathetic".
Earlier, the BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya claimed the devotees had "no place to rest enroute, people have had to sleep next to pig droppings and dustbins, young children and aged suffer as taps run dry, no food, no toilets".
Yesterday, three Congress leaders -- including former ministers Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and VS Sivakumar - visited the site to check the facilities provided for Lord Ayyappa devotees. Later, they roundly criticized the Pinari Vijayan government.
The Supreme Court order lifting the traditional bar on women between the ages of 10 and 50 at the Sabarimala temple has turned into a huge political battle, where the Congress and the BJP are ranged against the government of Pinarayi Vijayan.
Both have attacked the state government over its handling of the protests, which, the government claims, are backed by the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The last two times the temple was open, the protesters have threatened, heckled and forced women who attempted the journey, into turning back. Reporters covering the protests were attacked.
Denying the BJP has anything to do with the protests, Mr Alphons said, "We are not saying anything against the Supreme Court ruling. We will wait for verdict".
The minister also questioned the huge police presence - around 15,000 personnel, including a bomb squad has been deployed. "The people of Kerala have expressed their views in one voice," he added.