Travancore Devasom Board President Prayar Gopalakrishnan sparked controversy with his new statement regarding women entering the Sabarimala temple. Gopalakrishan who spoke to media in Kottayam said, "Don't try to make Sabarimala Thailand", hinting that if women are allowed to enter, Sabarimala will 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 asked.

"It's for this reason that we are restricting women in this age group. It's nothing personal. Both safety and rituals are equally important, we need to see both of these together. Even if the court says that women in this age group can enter Sabarimala we are sure that no members from a dignified "believer's" family will not step in", he said.

Many slammed Gopalakrishan for making the comment saying his statement reeked of gender bias. Kerala Minister for Devasom Kadakampally Surendran came down hard against Gopikrishnan, stating that his remarks had both women and followers of Lord Ayyappa. In his Facebook post, Surendran noted that Gopalakrishan's remarks are humiliating to the women below the age of 10 and above 50 who donot face any restrictions as of now.

Gopalakrishan thinks women who go to Sabarimala are shameless, wrote the Surendran. The state government does not have any presuppositions about the final verdict. The state government and Devasom Board are bound to accept the court order, said the minister. Surendran ended his post saying Gopalakrishnan should retract his 'Thailand' comment and issue a public apology.

With the Supreme court referring the case to constitutional bench, the battle of ideologies will intensify in the days to come.

WHAT DO DEVOTEES SAY?

It was pouring continuously as we reached Sabrimala on a day when the Supreme Court was to deliver a verdict on the question of whether women between the age group of 10-50 can be allowed to enter the holy shrine.

The whole place was deserted but some preparations were going on to welcome devotees in another few days. We happened to move to a spot where an elderly gentleman who was about to take the arduous journey to the hill shrine. He happened to enquire with us the Supreme Court verdict on the case relating the ban on women's entry into Sabrimala temple.

We informed him that the case was still being heard and what he had to say about this all. He stared for a minute or so and replied, "Let us leave this decision to god."

Yesterday, the SC referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench a bunch of petitions challenging the age-old practice. It will now decide whether the rights of women, especially their fundamental right to religious freedom and to pray at the place of their choice, can be discriminated against by a temple managed by a statutory board.