Activists of the BJP Yuva Morcha and other right-wing outfits on Monday stepped up protests across Kerala against late night police crackdown at Sabarimala temple and the detention of 69 people.

The Kerala high court expressed its displeasure over the manner in which devotees were dealt with by the police. As a war of words erupted over the police action, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said those arrested were not real devotees but workers of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.