New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court uplifted the century-old ban allowing women to enter Kerala's Sabarimala Temple, a review petition challenging the verdict was filed in the top court Monday.
The petition was filed by National Ayyappa Devotee association who claim that those who filed the previous plea are not Ayyappan followers.
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, lifted the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
Protests by devotees of Lord Ayyappa, demanding the retaining of the age-old tradition, rituals and faith of the hill shrine, continued in several parts of the state following the top court verdict.
Hundreds of Ayyappa devotees, especially women, took part in 'namajapa' (chanting the hymns of Lord Ayyppa) rallies at Tripunithura in Ernakulam and Tirunakkara in Kottayam districts, demanding the safeguarding of 'sanatana dharma', the tradition of Hinduism.
In Tripunithura, the faithful started the march from a temple dedicated to Lord Dharma Sastha, an incarnation of Lord Ayyappa, at Tamarakulangara in the morning.
The protests gained momentum after the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government made it clear that it would not go in for a review of the Supreme Court verdict. The opposition Congress and BJP had come out against the government stand and alleged the Left government was trying to implement the court order in haste without taking into consideration sentiments of the believers.
With agency inputs
