Sabarimala row: ‘Smriti Irani, ever heard of tampons?’

Commenting on the Supreme Court order about opening the Sabarimala temple in Kerala to women of all ages, Union minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday, October 23, said the right to pray did not mean the right to desecrate.

Speaking at an event in Mumbai called the Young Thinkers' Conference, Smriti Irani, 42, said: “I am nobody to speak of the Supreme Court verdict because I am a current serving cabinet minister... I believe I have the right to pray but I don't have the right to desecrate. And that is the difference that we need to recognise and respect.”

“...but just plain common sense. Would you take sanitary napkins steeped in menstrual blood and walk in to a friend's home? You could not. And would you think it is respectable to do the same thing when you are walking into the house of god?” questioned the minister, who is not new to controversies.

However, her comments have evoked scathing criticism on Twitter. Many users are questioning the rationale behind her comments, which have prompted hashtags such as #BloodSoakedSanitaryNapkin on Twitter. Here’s a collection of some reactions:

Sharing an incident when she had to wait outside a fire temple in Mumbai, with her son inside, Irani went on to add: “I was once shooed away from praying inside a fire temple at Andheri and handed over my son to priest for completing Navjote formalities. I stood on the road outside and prayed. I too have a right to pray. But not a right to desecrate.”

On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

Women have been stopped by Ayyappa devotees from climbing up to the Sabarimala temple as protests against the Supreme Court order opening the hilltop shrine to women of all ages continued across Kerala.

Since the declaration of top court’s order, several public figures have made controversial remarks on the issue. On October 13, Malayalam actor and BJP supporter Kollam Thulasi threatened that any woman who attempts to enter the temple should be “ripped apart”.

Similarly, Union minister of state for shipping and finance Pon Radhakrishnan said the movement to allow entry of women inside Sabrimala temple had been started by “people with perverted minds”.

(With agency inputs)