MP to move Private Member Bill in LS to ban entry of 10-50-yr old women into Sabarimala temple

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP N K Premachandran will move a Private Member's Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, seeking a ban on the entry of women aged 10-50 years in the Ayyappa temple, also known as Sabarimala temple.

The Private Member's Bill -- Sabarimala Sreedharma Sastha Temple (Special Provision) Bill 2019 -- seeks to maintain the status quo on religious practices of the Sabarimala temple, which existed before the Supreme Court order last year.

On September 28, 2018, the Supreme Court declared a Kerala government law barring women aged between 10-50 years from entering the shrine unconstitutional.

Reacting to Premachandran's move, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said: "If a law helps in preserving the custom and tradition, it is a good thing. However, we know it is not going to happen so easily."

"The Centre should address the issue immediately. We have already requested the Centre to pass legislation in connection with the Sabarimala issue. We have urged the Centre to make a law. If not a law, the issue can be addressed through an ordinance," he said.

Surendran said the Constitutional bench of the SC has pronounced the verdict and what power does the state government hold in this matter except complying with it? He said the Centre is well aware of the deadlock but in vain.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Kerala said that he stands for preserving the customs and traditions. If that's the case, the Centre should act accordingly. The Centre should have the guts to do what it promises," added the minister.

Kerala has witnessed massive protests by various Hindu outfits and the BJP workers after the Supreme Court's verdict lifted the restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple, which devotees are opposing.