Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 11 -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader V Muraleedharan on Saturday slammed the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala for attempting to suppress public protests over the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple.

Speaking to reporters, Muraleedharan said, "The protests over the Sabarimala robbery are being suppressed by the government... The march to the office of the Devaswom Minister today in Kottayam was met by the CPI(M) by resorting to strong-arm tactics and unleashing an attack on the participants of that agitation."

He further alleged that the state government was evading questions raised by devotees and instead using force to silence dissent. "This approach of the g...