On Wednesday morning, in an attempt to register their protest against the government’s actions in Sabarimala, current and erstwhile Kerala Congress (M) MLA PC George, and BJP’s O Rajagopal arrived at the Legislative Assembly dressed in the black garb typical of Ayyappa devotees.
This comes close on the heels of PC George announcing on Tuesday afternoon that he will co-operate with the BJP in Kerala at the state level, particularly in the Legislative Assembly.
It remains currently unclear what exactly the extent of this cooperation will be, but it is certain that PC George will align with the BJP in the Assembly in its views on the ongoing Sabarimala issue, and possibly other issues that come up in the Legislative Assembly in future.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, controversial MLA and Poonjar panchayat Vice President PC George said that the BJP planned to grant George a platform to speak in the Assembly, unlike the Congress which George said did not even grant him “two minutes” to speak. He also said that he had been in talks with BJP’s O Rajagopal for three years regarding his prospective alignment with the BJP. He stated that he would request the Speaker of the Assembly to allocate a separate block for him and O Rajagopal in the Assembly, so that he could be seated next to Rajagopal.
He also stated that the Kerala BJP’s opinion on the Sabarimala issue was the only suitable one of all political parties in Kerala, and that they had emerged the strongest party in terms of its views on the issue. However, in the press conference, George repeatedly made it clear that he had not yet joined the BJP, but had merely discussed his cooperation with them, and that there was an understanding between them for the time being.
The BJP also put out a statement stating that PC George and O Rajagopal would cooperate in the Legislative Assembly. It read, "In the ongoing session of the Assembly, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janapaksham will work together on issues related to Sabarimala. BJP member O Rajagopal and Janapaksham member PC George will work together on the Sabarimala issue in the Assembly. This understanding is based on a discussion between BJP State President Sreedharan Pillai and Janapaksham leader PC George."
PC George has been involved in controversies previously in his political career due to the often objectionable nature of the remarks he makes in public. Back in September, he called the nun who had spoken out about the rape she faced at the hands of Jalandhar diocese Bishop Franco Mulakkal a “prostitute” whilst claiming that she had made up the allegations against Franco. The survivor nun, according to her colleagues, cried for hours after PC George’s press conference attacking her. Ironically, many right wing leaders had lashed out at PC George then.