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BJP calls for 12-hour strike in Kerala's Pathanamthitta over violence during protest march

The bandh has been called from 6 am until 6 pm.

BJP calls for 12-hour strike in Kerala's Pathanamthitta over violence during protest march

Thiruvananthapuram: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday declared a 12-hour strike in Pathanamthitta district against a clash that broke out between the party's youth wing state president and police during a protest march. The bandh has been called from 6 am until 6 pm.

A violence had marred the protest march taken out by activists of Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP, to the house of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar at Aranumla in Pathanamthitta district, where police chased them away.

The BJP state youth wing was protesting against the recent Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple issue. According to Yuva Morcha, about 10 people, including its state president Prakash Babu, were injured in the melee.

Rejecting the Opposition demand to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its order, allowing women of all age groups into Sabarimala, the Kerala government had on October 3 said it would implement the verdict in the coming pilgrim season itself.

A high-level meeting here of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Lord Ayyappa temple, also decided to make necessary arrangements for women pilgrims visiting the hill shrine when it opens for the annual pilgrimage season on October 16.