The Communist government in Kerala headed by Pinarayi Vijayan has booked around a hundred devotees including the priest of the Varaikkal Devi temple for making offerings during the ‘Karkitaka Vavu Bali’ festival at the Varakkal Beach in Kozhikode on Sunday (August 8). The Kerala police invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act against the Hindus for performing the animal sacrifice.
Police officials were quoted saying in a report that the priest who was conducting the ritual was given clear instructions not to hold the offering at the beach, but he violated the orders.
Not just this, the Aluva ‘Sivarathri Manappuram’ along the banks of River Periyar in Ernakulam district and Thiruvallam Parasurama temple where people usually throng to perform ‘Bali tharpanam’ ritual wore a deserted look on Sunday as the Pinarayi Vijayan government has intensified the lockdown as the state administration grapples with containing the pandemic.
It is to be noted that the Communist government had given a three day relaxation for Bakrid and placed no restrictions on people congregating and giving qurbani (killing of goats). Even the Supreme Court came down heavy on the Pinarayi Vijayan Government for relaxing the lockdown at a time when the state was seeing a surge in cases. The state currently has the highest number of active cases in India.
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