Police restrictions on the public during the Thrissur Pooram and the delay fireworks display have led to a political row ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Demanding a judicial investigation into the ‘effort to sabotage’ Thrissur Pooram, K. Muraleedharan, UDF candidate in the Thrissur constituency, alleged a hidden agenda behind the episode. “We suspect a secret plan to turn the issue to the advantage of the BJP. How can the police take such a decision? The Union and State governments tried to sabotage the pooram. The uncertainty started from 11 p.m. on Friday ended only by 6 a.m. on Saturday. The delay robbed the fireworks of its sheen, disappointing lakhs of pooram fans,” he said.
“The effort started right from the time of the pooram exhibition. The stubbornness of the police led to the delay in fireworks. I was witness to the police action on pooram enthusiasts at the Madathil Varavu,” he said.
‘Communalising pooram’
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan alleged that the State government was supporting the effort to communalise the pooram. “Why should the police intervene in the conduct of the pooram, when there is a system suggested by the court for its conduct? The State government is trying to make the episode advantageous for the BJP,” he said.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Suresh Gopi alleged that it was an attack on Hindu rituals on the lines of the Sabarimala controversy. He accused the CPI(M) of creating issues and then solving them with an eye on votes.
“It’s a planned attempt to disrupt the rituals of the Thrissur Pooram. The LDF government is interfering in the conduct of pooram unnecessarily. It is a challenge to the believers,” said BJP leader K. Surendran.
V.S. Sunil Kumar, the LDF candidate said the unnecessary interference by the police created tension. “The police failed to gauge the emotion of the pooram enthusiasts and the ritualistic importance of the pooram,” he said.
