A day after the Kerala High Court ruled that women devotees could not enter the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple wearing churidar, state BJP leader Shobha Surendran has come out in support of women.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the BJP’s firebrand leader wrote that churidar should be allowed inside the temple.
She said fake practices should not be forced upon the Hindu community in the name of beliefs.
“Hindu community has earlier adopted the timely changes in dressing and traditions. Fake practices should not be forced upon the society in the name of beliefs,” she wrote.
Contrary to Shobha’s opinion, the local BJP leaders have been leading the protest against the earlier order.
On Thursday, the Kerala HC had stayed the order by Executive Officer (EO) of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, which permitted women wearing churidar to enter the temple.
On November 30, a day after EO ordered relaxation in dressing, members of the BJP, Brahamana Samajam and the Hindu Aikyavedi staged a protest in front of the temple against the controversial order. In view of the protests, a district court had stayed the earlier order.
An order relaxing the temple’s dress code for women-which previously prescribed a saree or expected women to wear a dhoti over their clothes- was issued by Executive Officer KN Satheesh, after a Thiruvananthapuram-based lawyer Riya Raji moved the High Court against the dress code.
On Thursday, the Kerala High Court stayed the order and reportedly said that the temple Tantri (head priest) has the ultimate authority to decide on the issue. The court decision was based on a petition that was filed, questioning EO’s authority to issue such an order.