Former ISRO chairperson Madhavan Nair joins BJP in Kerala

Kochi: Former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair joined Bharatiya Janata Party in Trivandrum on Saturday, reported news agency ANI. During Shah's day-long visit to kerala, Nair was awarded the formal membership of the party

According to a report in The News Minute, four others including former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President G Raman Nair were also welcomed in the party. The report also adds that Nair was "interested in Modi's philosophy of developing India" and has been working with the party for some time now.

During his visit to Kerala on Saturday, BJP chief Amit Shah extended full support to those opposing the Sabarimala verdict and also condemned the arrest of over 2,000 devotees, including RSS and Sangh Parivar activists in connection with the protests.

In a warning to CM Vijayan, he said the effort by his government to clamp down on the agitation amounted to "playing with fire". "Your government will not last," he added. He also said courts should desist from pronouncing verdicts which cannot be implemented. Alleging that the Left government was trying to "destroy" Sabarimala temple and the "Hindu traditions," the BJP chief said the saffron party won't allow the CPI(M)-led government to "gamble with Hindu faith."

CM Vijayan, hit back at Shah, terming his remarks "an attack on Supreme Court, Indian Constitution and our judicial system". "The BJP president's assertion that courts must only pronounce verdicts which could be carried out conveys the message that fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution are not meant to be implemented. These statements of Shah also reveal the true colour of RSS and Sangh Parivar," he wrote in a Facebook post.