Protests erupt after two women enter Sabarimala temple in Kerala

Protests erupted in various parts of Kerala Wednesday against the entry of two women in their forties into the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, police said. BJP workers waved black flags at Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran in Guruvayur where he had gone to attend a function. Health minister K K Shylaja also had to face the ire of activists of the Yuva Morcha, the party's youth wing at Kannur, who showed black flags, they said.

The protestors were removed by the police. BJP workers also took out a protest march in the state capital. In Kasaragod, they blocked traffic on the national highway. Two women in their forties entered the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa early Wednesday and offered prayers. Following their entry, the chief priest decided to close the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in order to perform the 'purification' ceremony.

(With inputs from agencies.)