#WATCH Two women devotees Bindu and Kanakdurga entered & offered prayers at Kerala's #SabarimalaTemple at 3.45am to… https://t.co/8XmYTFADDu — ANI (@ANI) 1546400377000

Kerala chief minister supported the move

Sabarimala case: 2 women manage to enter temple despite protests

NEW DELHI: Two women under the age of 50 years claimed that they were able to reach inside Kerala 's Sabarimala temple on early Wednesday morning.According to a report, two women — Bindu and Kanakadurga — who tried for darshan last week, told a news channel that they had darshan on Wednesday at 3.30 am.Bindu said that they were given all support and assurance for the darshan by the police, and they had a smooth and hassle-free darshan on early hours of Wednesday.They said they faced no opposition from other devotees who were present.Though the police have not officially endorsed their claims, top police sources confirm that they had darshan around 3.30 am, and had come with police personnel accompanying them in plainclothes.The women avoided the traditional Pathinettam Padi route and the 18 holy steps, and also had come discreetly. Though the police do not confirm where they began their journey on Tuesday and where were they taken after darshan, sources said that they chose the late hours after 1 am to begin their ascent from Pamba so as to minimise any risk from protesters, even though they had kept the whole matter under the wraps.Bindu who entered Sabarimala told TOI that they spent quality time there and faced no opposition from the part of other devotees.The temple has been closed and 'purification rituals' are expected after the women's entry. Shortly after the completion of the 'purification ritual', the temple administration reopened the temple for the devotees.and said the state administration has been instructed to provide all possible protection to women seeking an entry inside the temple."Today, two women entered Sabarimala temple. We had issued standing orders to police to provide all possible protection to any woman who wants to enter the temple," chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told ANI.BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai said that the state government has conspired to facilitate the entry of the two women to Sabarimala. He said that the stand taken by the BJP that the CPM- led government would go to any length to destroy the Sabarimala temple has been proven right.Before Wednesday, over a dozen women had made unsuccessful bids to trek to the Sabarimala shrine to offer prayers during the Mandalam season.Travancore Devaswom Board meanwhile said that they have no clue about the visit of the women, and the police had not informed anything in advance. "We do not have any information regarding the matter and it did not come to our notice. But whichever route they claim to enter is anyway heavily guarded by the police," Sabarimala executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar said.Meanwhile, BJP leadership said that if the news is true, it is extremely unfortunate. “If this is true, those who are behind this action will have to face a protest in the coming days from the true believers for hurting them. They should understand that this is not a victory for them, but is something they should not have done,” BJP national executive member and MP V Muraleedharan said.On December 30, amid heavy security, the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala, had opened for the 21-day "Makaravilakku" festival.The Makaravillaku will be held on Januaury 14 and the shrine will be closed at 7 am on Januaury 20.The temple, which had witnessed frenzied protests from devotees over the entry of women of menstruating age, had closed on December 27, marking the culmination of the 41-day annual Mandala puja festivities.The Ayyappa temple had witnessed massive protests by devotees against the state government's decision to implement the Supreme Court's September 28 verdict, opening its doors to women of all ages to offer prayers.Traditionally, girls and women in the menstruating age group of 10-50 years were barred from offering prayers at the temple, the presiding deity of which is "Naishtika Brahamachari" (perennial celebate).On Tuesday, around 50 lakh women formed a 620-km-long 'Women's Wall' in Kerala. The wall was formed across the national highway which stretched from the northern tip of Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvananthapuram. Lakhs of women from across the country participated in this grand shoulder-to-shoulder parade, which was organised partially by the government. The women demonstrators also raised Sabarimala issue.