Lord Ayyappa was denigrated in Kerala

Thrissur: A provocative poster of Lord Ayyappa was hung inside a college campus in Thrissur, Kerala, which has the potential to cause a huge stir among people and political circles. Reportedly, the poster, which shows Lord Ayyappa in a denigrated manner, was hung by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) student wing Students' Federation of India (SFI) and it is already drawing a scathing response of social media.

Earlier on Sunday evening, the poster was hung right in front of the Kerala Varma College in Thrissur and it was there till 1:30 pm on Monday. The poster showed Lord Ayyappa's face upside down between the legs of a menstruating woman. There were blood stains on either side of the woman's legs to indicate that she is menstruating.

Just beside the provocative poster, there was a message written which read that "Menstruating is not a sin and those people who are considering it to be a sin are degrading themselves. It is time to fight the ill practices of the society and we support the entry of women in Sabarimala."

Social media has gone abuzz with the demeaning picture of the Lord Ayyappa with people attacking the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in the state. Other student wings like BJP's Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Kerala Students Union have also registered protest against the poster.

Times Now reached out to the SFI president VP Sanu for clarification on the matter and he stressed that he is not aware of any such activity from his organisation. However, he assured that he will ask the authorities to investigate the matter and if wrongdoing is found within the SFI, the perpetrators will be punished.

Lord Ayyappa is a highly revered figure in Kerala and was a subject of huge protests after the Supreme Court paved way for the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple last year. The temple has had an age-old tradition where it banned the entry of menstruating women from entering the temple because Lord Ayyappa has been considered a celibate.