People's feelings should be respected: Minister

Chennai: As protests erupted in Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu against the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala, the state government on Friday said the feelings of the people opposing the entry of women in the 10 to 50 years age group, should be respected.

"As far as I am concerned, the people's feelings should be respected. When women themselves have gathered in lakhs and protested against the violation of the age-old tradition, then their feelings should be respected,"  dairy minister K.T. Rajendra Balaji, has said.

 Asked to comment on the protests at the Lord Ayyappa temple, Sabarimala, the minister said the devotees who also included women have not objected to women visiting the temple.

"I feel it will be wise to accept the people's sentiments on the issue," he said and added that Kerala government seemed to be rather keen on implementing the Supreme Court judgment which lifted restrictions on women between the age of 10 and 50 from entering the shrine.

 Hundreds of people had gathered in Nadapanthal, located around 500 metres from the Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala, to prevent women from continuing their trek to the temple which opened on Wednesday. The protesters had gathered in large numbers and disallow women from entering the temple.

Meanwhile, DMDK’s newly elected treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth said that every religion has its own tradition and practices. “We don’t agree to the idea of breaking them. Religious policies should be respected. Religion and caste should not be politicised.”

BJP condemns Pinarayi Vijayan:The State unit of the BJP accused the Kerala government of "unleashing" force on the Hindu devotees who have opposed the entry of women in the menstrual age to take up a pilgrimage to Sabarimala.

 Blaming Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for "disregarding the sentiments" of the devotees, BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan said the Kerala government should have anticipated this on the opening day of temple.

"It should have remained vigillant. I condemn Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan who is cooling himself while on a foreign trip, though there is a burning issue back home," she said.

 As the CM was out of the country, the police has been given a free hand to "unleash violence on the devotees," Dr Tamilisai claimed.