Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday, 2 January, criticised women who are entering the Sabarimala temple and said though he is all for women empowerment, it is a matter of sanctity of the temple.

In an interview with Mirror Now, Tharoor said, "Sabarimala advocates will tell you that any woman who believes in the legend of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala would not wish to worship there until she had turned 50, because to worship there before 50... if she is of reproductive age would something that would violate the very principles of the deity she was worshiping."