Kottayam: Trupti Desai, the Mumbai-based woman activist, will face stiff resistance when she plans to visit the Sabarimala temple along with 100 other activists in January. Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan and temple protection activist Rahul Eswar have vowed to prevent her entry saying they would not allow the customs and rituals of the temple to be broken. It may be recalled that the campaign led by Trupti Desai, founder of the Bhumata Brigade, had led to the lifting of the ban on women at the Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra.
Mr Prayar Gopalakrishnan told DC that the state government was supporting the entry of women at the Sabarimala temple against the precedent and the ritual according to which menstruating women (usually between 10 and 50 years of age) are not allowed to conduct darshan. Mr Rahul Eswar said that he would prevent the visit of Trupthy Desai under the aegis of Ayyappa Seva Sanghom. “At least three women will be used as a human wall to stop Trupthy. Her visit is a show-off,” he told DC.
