Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court on September 28 passed a judgment allowing the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into Kerala’s Sabarimala temple. Women of all ages should be allowed in Kerala's renowned Sabarimala temple, the Supreme Court ordered, ending the age-old ban.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that there are two opinions among believers - one supports entry of women of all ages in Sabarimala while the other opinion values only entry of women under a specified age limit.

“The Supreme Court has observed all these aspects while considering the case. The state government is bound to obey the court order and hence necessary steps will be taken for that,” he said to media.

He also said that in Sabarimala, there facilities for men already available, and now they have to set up facilities for women too. "All protection will be given to women who arrive in Sabarimala," he said.

The chief minister opined that the Devaswom Board president's stand on review petition was wrong.  Vijayan said, "Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar's statement claiming that review petition would be filed was fake news, and it triggered a lot of misunderstanding among people. Women in his house may not go to Sabarimala and that is his personal choice."   

"Until another law is passed, we will have to follow the Supreme Court verdict. Many women think they have the right to go to Sabarimala. Many saints and persons like TKA Nair (former principal secretary of Manmohan Singh regime) have echoed the same opinion,” he said.

The chief minister said he was unaware of the reason for the BJP’s stand to block women entering Kerala. Earlier, RSS had favoured the entry of women of all ages in Sabarimala. “How can we prevent a woman who wants to go to Sabarimala?” he quipped.

Also read: 'Save Sabarimala' campaign: Activists refuse to donate money to shrine, offer prayers instead