As Sabarimala temple opens today, protestors guard gates

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], Oct 17 (ANI): With Sabarimala Temple set to open to the public for the first time since the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter and offer prayers to the deity Lord Ayyappa, Social activist Rahul Easwar on Wednesday said that the believers of the old age tradition will stage a peaceful protest to stop women from entering the temple premises.
Easwar, the President of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, told ANI that protestors will guard the route to Sabarimala Temple for next five days till the Supreme Court opens and a review petition is filed in this regard.
"Our focus is very on point and it is a two-handed approach. On one hand, we have filed a review petition and we are hoping that the Supreme Court will show benevolence. On the other hand, we are organising a Gandhian protest where thousands of people will lie on the road. We are requesting, if someone wants to intrude into Sabarimala if someone wants to defile and attack our faith, they have to step up on our chest and do it. This is not a provocation; this is a humble cry and plea for respecting our sensitivity," he said.
"All we are asking in 5 more days, we are going to go to Supreme Court on 22nd, unfortunately for us, this is Puja holiday and Supreme Court is closed. We are going to guard the temple for 125 hours. We are not taking the law into our hand but have faith in our hearts. We will not have protests but only prayers," he added.
Women activist Trupti Desai, however, said that the protestors were issuing violent threats to women devotees.
"After Supreme Court verdict today the doors of Sabarimala Temple are going to be open for women of all ages. But if we see the situation there, the people opposing this welcome step are doing it in the wrong way. Women have been threatened to be ripped off, buses are being stopped and people have threatened of suicide. I feel this disagreement is being shown in the wrong way and is unconstitutional to some extent. If someone wants to oppose the group of women who want to enter the temple, they should do it in a non-violent Gandhian way," Desai told ANI.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that his government would not allow anyone to take the law and order into their hands.
To avoid any untoward incidents, a total of 1000 security personnel, 800 men and 200 women, have been deployed at Nillekal and Pampa base. 500 security personnel have been deployed at Sannidhanam. (ANI)