The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the Kerala government for inviting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin as the chief guest for the first-ever Global Ayyappa Sangamam in Pathanamthitta, calling the move “hypocrisy” and comparing it to “Hitler celebrating Jews.”
The conclave, scheduled for September 20, is being jointly organised by the Kerala government and the Travancore Devaswom Board. It will bring together Ayyappa devotees from across the world and aims to elevate Sabarimala to the status of a global pilgrimage centre.
Kerala Devaswom Department Minister VN Vasavan said the gathering, which will host 3,000 delegates, including ministers from Karnataka, Telangana and the Union government, would be conducted in strict accordance with rituals and traditions.
He added that facilities such as accommodation, medical care and special transport were being arranged for devotees, alongside the government’s ₹1,300 crore master plan for Sabarimala’s development, which includes a proposed airport and railway line targeted for commissioning by 2028.
The BJP, however, condemned the invitation, arguing that Stalin had failed to defend the Hindu faith in the past. Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of insulting devotees, alleging that he had previously “ordered police action and filed cases against devotees at Sabarimala.”
He warned that the party would “resist” the participation of both Stalin and Vijayan unless they apologised to Hindus and Ayyappa devotees.
“INDI alliance parties like Congress, CPI(M) and DMK going to a Sabarimala programme is as unreal as Hitler celebrating Jews, Rahul Gandhi speaking the truth, Osama bin Laden becoming an apostle of peace, Hamas/Jamaat Islami respecting people of other faiths, and Congress/INDI alliance giving up dynasties and corruption. Harsh but true. Nothing—no lie, no hypocrisy—that the Rahul Gandhi-led INDI alliance does surprise or shock me anymore,” Chandrasekhar said.
Also Read : Stalin hits out at Shah for targeting Justice Reddy over naxalism
Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan described the decision to invite Stalin as “the highest hypocrisy,” pointing out that he had turned down invitations from Hindu organisations in Tamil Nadu but agreed to attend a conclave in Kerala.
BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan added that the invitation amounted to “the height of hypocrisy and unprincipled pretence,” recalling how Stalin had not condemned his son and DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for equating Sanatana Dharma with diseases such as dengue and malaria.
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty dismissed the BJP’s protests, saying Rajeev Chandrasekhar was “living in a dream.” “For the Ayyappa gathering, when we invited Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and the deputy CM, they said they would come.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said they will be blocked. I think Rajeev saw a dream today about this. I don’t think he will tell this in reality. He doesn’t know a thing about Kerala. Is this how you say that you will block a state’s CM and deputy CM? That is said with the arrogance of Centre backing. All that will not happen in Kerala,” Sivankutty said.
Meanwhile, DMK organisational secretary TKS Elangovan defended Stalin’s participation, stressing that there was “nothing inappropriate” about it.
“If they had invited him, he would have gone. What is wrong with it? This is not about worship but an event of historical importance,” he said, adding that the BJP was “a bunch of crooks” who “prove it in every aspect.”
Follow us
