Mahila Morcha state president VT Rama, who was on a hunger strike before the secretariat over Sabarimala issue for ten long days, was arrested and shifted to a hospital here. Reportedly, PK Krishnadas has replaced her in the hunger strike.
Notably, the Mahila Morcha is the women wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This wing of the BJP is staging a strike demanding the withdrawal of all restrictions imposed on the Sabarimala shrine and dropping of the police cases against their leaders, who were a part of the protests and strikes. They are also demanding stringent action against those officers for allegedly manhandled devotees while on a pilgrimage.
A couple of weeks ago, violent protests also broke out across Kerala after Bindu and Kanakadurga climbed the Sabarimala temple. Protesters blocked highways and forced closure of shops and markets located in various parts of the region.
On 28 September, 2018, the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on entry of women of age group between 10 to 50 years into the Lord Ayyappa shrine.