Government not to interfere in temple customs and traditions: Oommen Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government on Wednesday made it clear that it would not interfere in the customs and traditions of Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala where entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 are banned.

"Government has a declared stand on matters like this. It will not interfere on issues of customs and beliefs," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

"This is the state government stand and it will be conveyed to Supreme court," Chandy added.

Chandy was reacting to the Supreme court observation that practice of banning entry of women and girls was not supported by the constitutional scheme. The apex court had also directed the state government to file an affidavit in the case.

Chandy said the government never interfered in the matters of other religions such as that of Muslims and Christians.

"How can it interfere on customs and beliefs of Hindu faith?," he asked. Yesterday, the Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the temple had stated that the restriction was part of custom and traditions of the shrine and wanted it to continue.

On January 11,the apex court had questioned the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age group at the Lord Ayyappa temple, while hearing a PIL filed by the Young Lawyers Association, seeking entry for all women and girls in the shrine.