Nilackal/Pamba (Ker),  Hitting out at the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala on the Sabarimala issue, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan Wednesday said its “masterplan” was to “harass” the devotees and not allow them to go to the Ayyappa temple.

“What is their Masterplan? To harass the devotees…Not to allow the devotees to go to Sabarimala,” he told reporters.

Asked about his opinion on the September 28 Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the shrine, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “I do not want to go into that…. My concern is about the devotees. Do not harass the devotees.”

Radhakrishnan, who arrived here this morning en route to the hilltop shrine, was upset that private vehicles were not being allowed to ply from Nilackal, the base camp for the Sabarimala pilgrimage, to Pamba, which he said was causing a lot of hardships to the pilgrims coming from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.

The minister asked Superintendent of Police (SP) Yatish Chandra as to why only Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses were being allowed to Pamba and said the devotees were being inconvenienced due to this decision taken by the state government.

The SP explained that the infrastructure was damaged in the recent floods and that it would be difficult to provide parking facilities to private vehicles.

He told the minister that there would be traffic snarls if all the private vehicles were allowed to ply to Pamba and asked him if he was prepared to take the responsibility for the same.

Radhakrishnan said he had been coming to Sabarimala since he was six years of age and that he had visited the shrine at least 30 times.

“I have never seen such a situation at Sabarimala,” he said, before leaving for Pamba by a KSRTC bus.

BJP state general secretary A N Radhakrishnan, who was accompanying the Union minister, alleged that the IPS officer spoke “arrogantly” and “misbehaved” with the latter, adding that the matter would be taken up with the Centre.

Another Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam had visited the Sabarimala complex Monday and attacked the Pinarayi Vijayan government for turning the temple complex into a “war zone” and treating the pilgrims like “dacoits”.

“They have imposed section 144 (prohibitory orders). The pilgrims are being treated like dacoits. Where is the basic infrastructure…this is pathetic,” he had told reporters.

Intensifying their attack, BJP president Amit Shah had said the state government’s handling of the situation at Sabarimala was “disappointing” and alleged that the pilgrims were being treated as “Gulag inmates” and made to spend the nights next to “pig droppings”.

The main opposition in Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which has also stepped up its agitation on the temple issue, had defied the prohibitory orders Tuesday.

The UDF had sent a delegation of its leaders, including Ramesh Chennithala and Oommen chandy, to Pamba and Nilackal.

Meanwhile, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar said their aim was to have a peaceful atmosphere at the hill shrine and the board was prepared to hold talks with anyone on the matter.

As the shrine opened Wednesday, the 18 holy steps, which normally see a heavy crowd, wore a deserted look most of the time.

An elderly woman said she had no problem with the new regulations and was happy that she could offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa.

“I have never had such a good opportunity to see the lord,” the beaming woman said.

Another devotee said he had been coming to the shrine for the last 12 years without fail.

“This year’s was the most satisfying darshan,” he said.

Meanwhile, a court in Pathanamthitta district Wednesday granted conditional bail to 72 people, including state BJP general secretary K Surendran, who were arrested in connection with the Sabarimala issue.

Though 54 days have passed since the top court delivered its historic verdict allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple, no women in the age group of 10-50 years has so far made it to the temple.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had Tuesday said the Sangh Parivar’s agenda was to create trouble by sending “karsevaks” to take control of the Sabarimala temple and make the pilgrims “scapegoats”.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had earlier likened the Sangh Parivar workers in Sabarimala to the “Khalistan extremists” who had laid siege to the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala was opened on November 16 for the over-two-month-long pilgrimage season amidst tension.