Sabarimala temple row: Hindu outfits call for state-wide strike

Various Hindu outfits in Kerala on Wednesday called for a state-wide strike on July 30 against the state government's decision supporting women's entry inside the Sabarimala temple.

The organisations like Ram Sena, Hanuman Sena, Ayyappa Dharma Sena and Vishal Vishwakarma Aikya Vedi called for strike after the Kerala government told the court that it supports the entry of women inside the Sabarimala temple.

The hearing of the issue in this regards is underway in the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra questioned senior counsel K Parasaran as to "why are women excluded from entering it (Sabarimala temple)?"

To which Parasaran argued that "the right of State to make laws to throw open Hindu Temples to all classes and sections of Hindus does not include women within its scope".

On July 18, the apex court observed that banning the entry of women in Sabarimala by the temple authorities is unconstitutional.

Top Court Judge DY Chandrachud also said that the right to pray is equal for both men and women.

As per norms prescribed by the temple board, women aged between 10 and 50 are prohibited from visiting the premises.

In January 2016, the court had questioned the ban, saying this could not be done under the Constitution.

In November the same year, the Kerala Government had told the Supreme Court that it was ready to allow women inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, a prominent pilgrimage site among Hindu devotees in the state of Kerala.