Thiruvananthapuram: A day after his controversial remark on women's entry in Sabarimala Temple, South Indian actor Kollam Thulasi on Saturday defended him stand saying that he made the statement out of deep devotion to Lord Ayyappa.
He, however, sought an apology adding that after making the statement he realised that as a celebrity he should not have said it.
"It is due to my deep devotion to Lord Ayyappa I said like that. But I later understood as a celebrity I shouldn't say like this. I wholeheartedly apologise for it," the actor said.
Thulasi had sparked a row on Friday saying that the women coming to the Sabarimala temple should be ripped in half. He had added that one half of the ripped body should be sent to Delhi and the other half should be thrown to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office in Thiruvananthapuram.
"Women coming to #Sabarimala temple should be ripped in half. One half should be sent to Delhi and the other half should be thrown to Chief Minister's office in Thiruvananthapuram," he had said.
On September 28, the Supreme Court had opened the doors for entry of women - long prohibited - in the Sabarimala Temple. Women between 10 and 50 years of age have so far been prohibited on grounds of 'purity' owing to menstruation.
Former Chief Justice Dipak Misra had observed that subversion of women rights under the garb of physiological phenomenon cannot be allowed. Misra had also said that the right to worship cannot be subjected to gender discrimination and that in a country where women are worshipped as goddesses, such restrictions cannot be placed.
