By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran favours entry of all women to the famed Sabarimala temple.
The minister has made the suggestion in a letter to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the body that looks after all temples in the southern districts of the state.
The Sabarimala temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa and entry of women is restricted to those who have reached menopause and those who have not attained puberty.
The temple, which is situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, four km uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district, is accessible only by foot.
The TDB will be taking up the issue soon.
"A petition that women be allowed entry into the Sabarimala temple is to come up in the Supreme Court on July 11. And the TDB is meeting here on the 13th to discuss these things and also the letter from the minister," TDB board member P. Narayanan told IANS.
The discussion on whether all women should be allowed entry into the Sabarimala temple began last year when Kannada actress Jaimala disclosed that she had entered in 1987 and touched the deity.
Following this, Sudhakaran had publicly said he supported the entry of all women.
He had stirred up controversy this April when he wrote to the Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor saying that veteran singer K.J. Yesudas, a Christian, be allowed to enter the temple to sing.