BJP warns of intense protest in Sabarimala against ‘virtual queue booking only’ plan

BJP state president K Surendran said they would go to the Lord Ayyappa temple without online booking and would stage protests if anybody blocks them.

 Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP on Saturday came down heavily on the Left government in Kerala over its decision to allow darshan in Sabarimala Temple only through virtual queue booking system during the upcoming annual pilgrimage season. It also warned to jump in intense agitations if the government goes ahead with the plan.

Congress has also urged the government to retain spot booking along with the virtual queue booking as it cannot expect all the devotees to be familiar with the technology. BJP state president K Surendran said they would go to the Lord Ayyappa temple without online booking and would stage protests if anybody blocks them.

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The party would also help those pilgrims who would like to have darshan without virtual queue booking, he told reporters here. “The decision to implement the virtual queue system alone cannot be allowed at any cost. We have decided to go to Sabarimala without any online booking,” Surendran said and asked “Should lakhs of devotees of Lord Ayyappa need to visit Sabarimala after booking online?” How the large number of devotees from various parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh etc. could book online and visit the shrine, he questioned.

There were pilgrims who travel all the way from their places by walk and those who were not familiar with technology, he pointed out.

The BJP state chief also said that state government tried to create tension in Sabarimala years ago under the garb of the Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all age categories to offer prayers in the shrine. “The government cannot check any devotee at Sabarimala in the name of virtual queue booking. The BJP will help all devotees to offer prayers at the hill temple. Intense protest will be there if anyone tries to block the pilgrims,” Surendran added.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also urged the state government to continue the spot booking along with the virtual queue system in Sabarimala. Noting that Sabarimala is one of the most significant pilgrim centres in Kerala, visited by devotees of other states, he said that the new decision to allow darshan only through the online booking would adversely impact those coming from other states.

He said that the government cannot insist that all the pilgrims coming from other states should be tech-savvy.

Right wing outfits like Hindu Aikya Vedi also demanded the government to continue with the spot booking system in the two-months-long annual pilgrimage season beginning by mid-November.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex body that manages the Sabarimala Temple, on Friday justified the state government’s decision to allow darshan only through virtual queue booking system saying that it as essential to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims and the hill shrine.

In the virtual queue system, pilgrims can book their darshan tickets and prasadam online through the official website of the Sabarimala temple.
In spot booking, pilgrims can book slots for their darshan at designated centres identified by the Devaswom Board.