Ayappa devotees take out procession against SC ruling

: Over 5,000 devotees of Lord Ayappa, mostly women, took out a procession here Friday protesting the Supreme Court ruling, allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the hill shrine in Sabarimala.

They held aloft placards and raised slogans against the ruling, which they termed was against culture and tradition.

The procession was organised by Coimbatore Sree Ayappa Seva Sangham.

Later, the devotees squatted in the middle of a road and sang bhajans for a while.

Former BJP MP and chairman of coir board C P Radhakrishnan was among those who took part in the protest.

Neighbouring Kerala has been witnessing a series of agitations by various devotee groups and Hindu outfits against the LDF government's decision to implement the apex court order without going for any review petition.

On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, lifted the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.