The Lord Ayyappa shrine witnessed comparatively heavy crowd Saturday, even as a war of words erupted over the government’s handling of the Sabarimala issue. Congress veteran and former Defence Minister A K Antony reportedly attacked the state government, saying it was encouraging the BJP and RSS on the matter. Hitting back, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the statement was with ‘ulterior motives’.
“Antony’s statement that the violence witnessed in Sabarimala was due to inept handling of the issue by chief minister and the DGP was with ulterior motives,” Vijayan said in a Facebook post. He said the government’s measures had been appreciated by the Kerala high court and this statement was to spread canards about the government.