Chennai: Travancore Devasom Board chief Prayar Gopalakrishan has sparked a fresh controversy by saying that women born in decent families should not enter Sabarimala even if the apex court lifts a ban on their entry inside the temple.


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''There is nothing personal. Both safety and rituals are equally important. Even if the court says that women aged between 10 and 50 can enter Sabarimala, we are sure that no members from a dignified family will step in,'' he was quoted as saying by media reports.


Hitting out at his critics who have slammed him for making such crass remarks, he said, "Don't try to make Sabarimala Thailand."


The Travancore Devasom Board chief made these remarks while speaking to the media in Kottayam during which he suggested that if women are allowed to enter the temple, Sabarimala will soon become a tourist centre.


What will be the situation if women between the age of 10 to 50 climb uphill under challenging weather conditions without any safety? Should we make Sabarimala a Thailand", he reportedly said.


He made these remarks on a day when the Supreme Court decided to refer the matter relating to women's entry inside the temple to its larger Constitution Bench.


Reacting to it, he reiterated that women of menstruating age should not be allowed to enter the temple. 


The order was passed by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. They framed several questions to be dealt with by the Constitution Bench, including whether the temple can restrict women's entry.


The apex court also sought to know if restricting the entry of women violates their rights under the Constitution and amounted to discrimination against them.


The temple, situated in Pathanamthitta district, restricts women aged between 10 and 50 from taking the pilgrimage to Sabarimala temple. In January 2016, the court had questioned the ban, saying this cannot be done under the Constitution.