THRISSUR: KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran on Tuesday said Congress would stay with devotees who are protesting women’s entry to Sabarimala temple, but will not allow the shrine to be converted into a battlefield.The KPCC president, however, sought to distance the party from the statement by acting president K Sudhakaran that party activists will block young women, who are trying to enter Sabarimala.“Blocking women is not the policy of Congress. The statement of Sudhakaran that women will be blocked at Sabarimala is not the stance of the Congress. The BJP president Sreedharan Pillai is trying to convert Sabarimala into a combat terrain like Ayodhya ,’’ Ramachandran said.BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai said his party would continue to support ‘legal protests’ against allowing entry of women of all age groups to Sabarimala, as the talks initiated by Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to end the stir have failed.Adrresing a ‘meet-the-press’ programme organized by the Thrissur Press Club, Pillai demanded that a special session of the Kerala assembly be convened to discuss the consequences of the recent Supreme Court order.He said the lone BJP MLA O Rajagopal has written to the assembly speaker and parliamentary affairs minister A K Balan regarding this.Four general secretaries of BJP Kerala unit will lead protest fasts at Pamba on Wednesday, when the Sabarimala temple opens for a day.

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