Smriti defends her Sabarimala remark, cries propaganda in controversy
NEW DELHI: A remark by Union minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday in connection with the entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple triggered a controversy.
The Supreme Court last month lifted a centuries-old ban on women aged between 10 and 50 years from entering the hill shrine in Kerala, where the chief deity is considered eternally celibate. The verdict prompted protests by traditionalists who said the court’s order went against their religious sentiments.
“I have the right to pray but no right to desecrate. This is my personal opinion,” Irani said at an event in Mumbai, where she also spoke about her husband’s Zoroastrian faith in connection with the Sabarimala verdict, and made a remark about sanitary pads that triggered the controversy.
She said she was “nobody to speak against the Supreme Court verdict” on women’s entry to the shrine as she was a serving cabinet minister. The SC order remained unimplemented as protesters stopped women from proceeding to the shrine.
Irani defended her remarks after they drew criticism from many on social media. “As a practising Hindu married to a practising Zoroastrian I am not allowed to enter a fire temple to pray. I respect that stand... and do not approach any court... Similarly, Parsi or non Parsi menstruating women irrespective of age DO NOT go to a Fire Temple. These are 2 factual statements. Rest of the propaganda / agenda being launched using me as bait is well just that ... bait,” Irani tweeted later on Tuesday.