Thiruvananthapuram: Shashi Tharoor, MP, came down heavily against the BJP’s politics on Sabarimala issue. While talking to reporters here, Tharoor said when O. Rajagopal, BJP MLA, questioned about the purity of Makara Jyothi in the Assembly, BJP’s politics on the issue have come out in the open.
Tharoor maintained that for the Ayyappa devotees the Makara Jyothi is a spiritual belief, despite having several theories behind its origin. Still the Ayyappa devotees believe in its purity which reflects in several lakh pilgrims making a beeline to see the Ayyappa Jyothi.
“When Rajagopal raised the issue of Makara Jyothi in the Legislative Assembly under the guise of the politics, he has in effect wounded the sentiments of the pilgrims. It is clear that the BJP is neither interested in the beliefs of the pilgrims or in the purity of the Sabarimala temple”, said Tharoor.
The Thiruvananthapu-ram MP also demanded to know why the BJP is not coming out with an ordinance on the Sabarimala issue when they have majority in the floor of the Parliament. The Mala Araya, an Adivasi community has been claiming that it was their forefathers who had performed the lighting of the Makara Jyothi as a ritual at the shrine.
