Social activist Trupti Desai said on Wednesday she would visit the Sabarimala temple, which saw frenzied protests against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow women of all ages to enter the sanctum sanctorum and offer prayers.
Desai has said she is going to visit the temple with six other women on Saturday, and urged the Kerala government to bear the expenses to be incurred on the trip.
The Lord Ayyappa shrine will reopen on Saturday for the two-month-long Mandala-Makaravilakku puja.
In the past, Desai, founder of Bhumata Brigade, an organisation known for fighting for women’s rights, had spearheaded the campaign for women to be allowed into various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple.
She wrote an email to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking security as she fears an attack on her life during her visit to the hill shrine.
Read | SC agrees to reconsider Sabarimala temple verdict in open court on Jan 22
“We will not return to Maharashtra without darshan at the Sabarimala temple,” she said, adding, “We have faith in the government that it will provide security for us.”
The activist said the state government should bear all her expenses during the trip, including return tickets, accommodation, meal and transport.
In the letter to the CM, Desai wrote: “We request Government of Kerala to bear all the expenses with protection incurred by us related to arrangements made since we reach Kerala and subsequently to Maharashtra from Kerala,the Government of Kerala should also in furtherance bear expenses incurred by us towards car pick-up, accommodation/meal.”
She added that it was the responsibility of the state government and the police to provide protection and take them to the temple as the Supreme Court had allowed women of all ages to offer prayers at the shrine.
According to a PTI report, the Chief Minister’s Office said they had received the e-mail and it had been sent to the officials concerned.
Desai has also sent a mail to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to ensure security for her visit to the shrine.
Meanwhile, Rahul Easwar, president of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, which is among the organisations protesting against the entry of women of all ages into the shrine, said Ayyappa devotees would resist through “Gandhian means” to foil any attempt by Desai and her group to trek to the holy shrine and offer prayers.
“We will lie down on the floor. We will protest and at all costs to prevent them from offering prayers at the shrine”, he said.
(With agency inputs)