Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president MM Hassan is in a soup. On Sunday, the politician declared in a speech that ‘menstruation is impure’ and that women shouldn’t enter places of worship during ‘those days’.

Speaking at a camp for journalism students from various parts of the state organised by the State Youth Welfare Board, Hassan said, “Menstruation is impure and women shouldn’t be allowed to enter places of worship during those days.” His comment was in response to a student’s question on why women are not allowed to enter Sabarimala while menstruating. While the question itself was incorrect - Sabarimala in Kerala is a pilgrimage centre where women between the ages of 10 and 50 are banned from entering - Hassan did not notice it. The only thing he had in mind, clearly, was the ‘impurity’ of women ‘during those days’ since ‘blood flows’ from her body.

Another student then questioned him, asking what he considered impure in this scenario - the blood or the organ from which it flows. While Hassan couldn’t substantiate, he was adamant on his stand. As outrage broke out over his statement, the KPCC president tried to backtrack on Monday by claiming that the statement was not his opinion. In a press meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, Hassan said that his statement was distorted. “The statement on menstruation was not my opinion. That was my observation of the social situation which don’t allow women to enter places of worship while menstruating, be it Hindus or Muslims. It’s an existing social stigma,” he said.

“The student asked why the political parties are not trying change the tradition in regard to Sabarimala. I opined that it was the social situation and we can’t change it. How has such an observation been attributed to me? I am not a religious authority to comment on that,“ he said in the press meet.