Coimbatore : BJP on Monday sought to know whether Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who swore by the Supreme Court verdict with regard to Sabarimala, dared to implement the verdict last year in connection with a church dispute.

When Vijayan was ready to implement the verdict on Sabarimala, why was he hesitating to implement the 2017 Supreme Court order with regard to Orthodox Church, BJP national secretary H Raja asked at a press conference here.

There was no ban on women entering all Ayyappa temples and restrictions were ther only in Sabarimala which was a tradition. Even as those attempted to enter the temple were not devotees, he said.

In the pretext of gender equality, Kerala Government wanted to make Sabarimala a tourist centre, Raja said, adding that the dispute in Kerala was not between Hindus and other religions, but between believers and atheists, which Christians and Muslims were also well aware of.

Anybody could speak about or criticise the court verdict, he said, adding former Justice Markandeya Katju has expressed his opinion about the Sabarimala verdict.

On the remarks of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raja said he was “uncivilised both in his life and talks” which was condemnable .

BJP was ready to face elections at any time, he said and it would be better to hold the Lok Sabha and Tamil Nadu bypolls together, as it would check money distribution.