Kollam (Kerala): Hours after Kollam Thulasi was booked on account of the derogatory remark made by him on the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple, the actor issued an apology on Saturday.
“It is due to my deep devotion to Lord Ayyappa I spoke like that. But I later understood that as a celebrity, I shouldn’t have made a statement like this. I wholeheartedly apologise for this (remark),” the actor said.
On September 28, Supreme Court quashed all restrictions imposed on the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple, and observed that “no physiological and biological factor can be given legitimacy if it doesn’t pass the test of conditionality”.
While many, including the Kerala state government, welcomed the decision, a large number of devotees have organised protests, demanding to retain the age-old tradition.
Thulasi, while addressing a public gathering on Friday, had suggested that women who enter the temple should be ripped into two. “One half should be sent to Delhi and the other half should be thrown towards Chief Minister’s (Pinarayi Vijayan) office in Thiruvananthapuram,” he added. Subsequently, the actor was booked by the Kerala Police.
The Sabarimala Temple, located in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, is dedicated to the Hindu deity Ayyappa. The temple management argues that the deity is eternal celibate, and thus women of menstruating ages should be forbidden from entering the temple.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]