Sabarimala temple opens: Amid heavy security, 10 women sent back by police

“After they reached Pamba, police checked their identity cards and found that they were in the barred age group and informed them about the current situation in Sabarimala. They did not proceed further,” the police authorities were quoted as saying by PTI.

Over 10,000 police personnel would be posted in phases in and around the Lord Ayyappa temple for security purposes during the pilgrimage season. The temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, is situated on a hilltop about 4,000 ft above sea level.

Calls for dropping cases against protestors

The opening of the shrine’s gates for pilgrimage also witnessed the opposition leaders making demands about dropping of cases against the protestors that had been booked against the bid to implement Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict permitting entry of women in the menstrual age group into Sabarimala temple.

Kerala: Devotees throng #SabarimalaTemple to offer prayers during the Mandala Pooja festival; A devotee says, “Ladies should not be allowed to enter the temple. Supreme Court is not bigger than God.” pic.twitter.com/eD29m73hpB

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2019

According to BJP leader P P Mukundan, cases were registered against 55,650 Ayyappa devotees for participating in the protests against the alleged move by the government to violate the age-old custom of the temple.

BJP Tamil Nadu general secretary Vanathi Srinivasan also made remarks against women’s entry inside the temple premises. He stated that women should allow the tradition and heritage of the Sabarimala shrine to be followed.

#WATCH Kerala: Priests open the sanctum sanctorum of the #SabarimalaTemple. pic.twitter.com/wOhQiv1ErZ

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2019

“They should realise this and allow to maintain the sanctity of the temple,” Vanathi told reporters to a question on the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayyappa temple issue.

Rennaissance Protection Committee hits out at Kerala govt

The Renaissance Protection Committee protested against the Kerala government while stating that it had gone soft on its stand on the women’s entry issue over the Sabarimala shrine and that would only help weaken the cause. General secretary of the renaissance protection committee Punnala Sreekumar told PTI that a progressive state like Kerala should not have shied from implementing the order and instead take forward the renaissance movement.

Activist Trupti Desai targets government over women’s entry

Trupti Desai, a known activist face behind the crusade supporting women’s entry to the shrine, stated that the Kerala government is working completely against women. “Yesterday, the government said that they won’t provide security to women, so women are going to SabarimalaTemple without protection. Now, women are being stopped, so I think the government is working completely against women,” Desai was quoted as saying by ANI.