Thiruvananthapuram: A dawn-to-dusk Kerala shutdown call, given by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi (SKS) to protest against the visit of two women to the Sabarimala temple on Wednesday, evoked a mixed response in the state on Thursday.
The SKS said the shutdown was intended to oppose the role of the Kerala government which apparently facilitated the entry of the women inside the temple before dawn on Wednesday.
There were skirmishes at various places between the organisers of the shutdown and those who tried to resist it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar forces have pledged their support to the SKS shutdown call, and their activists are enforcing it.
While state-owned and private buses are off the road, private vehicles, mostly two-wheelers are plying. Private cars are also moving in Thiruvananthapuram and other major cities in Kerala.
Ten people in Kannur were arrested after they attacked vehicles that plied before the BJP office.
Even as the two traders’ body in the state had announced that they would open their shops, in several places, shops were yet to open.
However, in Kozhikode, traders were determined to open their shops, even as the SKS and BJP activists were protesting.
“This frequent calling of shut-down is not acceptable as we are determined to open the shops and from now on, we will open in future also,” said a group of shopkeepers at Kozhikode.
Similarly, in Thevara near Kochi, shops are open.
An incident of stone pelting at an interstate bus from Karnataka was reported from Kozhikode district.
Similar incidents have also been reported from Kasargode, Palakkad and certain other places.
Various university examinations scheduled for Thursday have been postponed and all educational institutions in the state are closed.
Meanwhile, the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to see that strong action is taken against those who try to create trouble during the shutdown.
At Pandalam in Alappuzha district, angry BJP and Sangh Parivar activists took out a protest march, after one of their supporters who was injured in a stone throwing by CPI-M workers, on Wednesday, died late night.
One CPI-M worker has been arrested and the wife of the deceased said the family does not believe that a fair probe will happen.
Following the escalation of protests and altercations among opposing factions, the CM accused the RSS and BJP of turning the state into a war zone.
Congress workers injured in accident involving CM’s cavalcade
Meanwhile, four Congress workers were injured after a vehicle in the CM’s cavalcade rammed into them. Congress legislator M Vincent told IANS that the four party workers got injured in two different incidents.
He said some Congress activists waving black flags were hit by the pilot vehicle in what he insisted was “a deliberate attempt”, injuring two of them.
Later, another 200 metres from the first site, “the pilot vehicle knocked down two of our workers who were on a two-wheeler”, said Vincent.
Journalists attacked by Sangh Parivar activists
Around 100 media personnel, including women, have been attacked in Kerala in the last two days since protests erupted, according to a journalist leader, blaming the Sangh Parivar activists for the mayhem.
“Since yesterday, it has come to notice that even media personnel, including women, have not been spared by Sangh Parivar forces who are trying to take the law into their hands. This will be seriously dealt with,” Vijayan told the media here.
Speaking to IANS, V. Suresh, President of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, said that since Wednesday, journalists had been attacked by Sangh Parivar protesters.
“We have got reports from across the state that around 100 journalists have been attacked. Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Palakkad are the districts where our fellow journalists have been the worst hit,” he said, adding that they have collected visuals of the attacks and will be handing the same to the police. “As a protest, it was decided that the media will boycott the press conference of State BJP President P.S. Sreedharan Pillai and programmes of Sangh Parivar on Thursday,” he stated.
Journalists on Thursday staged a protest march in front of the state Secretariat to condemn the violence.
Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra said the police viewed these attacks “very seriously” and strict action would be taken against the attackers.
“Directions have been issued to all district police chiefs to form a separate committee of police officers to probe these attacks. The intelligence unit has been asked to look into it,” he said.
With inputs from IANS
