BJP President Amit Shah's criticism of the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple exposes who was behind the violence in the temple area, the CPI-M said on Sunday. "Shah has challenged the Supreme Court order on the entry of women to the Sabarimala temple and incited his partymen to defy the verdict. In doing so, he has exposed the real hand behind the violent protests against women's entry into Sabarimala," the CPI-M politburo said.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement that such incitement had also led to the "highly condemnable" arson attack on the ashram of Swamy Sandeepananda Giri. Accusing Shah of blatantly ridiculing the apex court ruling, the CPI-M, however, said it was in keeping with the RSS-BJP's contempt for the Constitution and the Supreme Court.