For days, the Centre managed to steer clear of the Sabarimala issue. On Tuesday, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani spoke about it at a Mumbai event, pointing out that one has the right to pray but not to desecrate. Answering a direct question from the audience on the protests at Sabarimala Temple over the SC verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages inside the holy shrine, Irani spoke about her own family where her husband and two children practise Zoroastrianism and how she had to wait outside whenever they went to the Fire Temple.
Explaining that it is “plain common sense,” Irani also asked, “Would you take sanitary napkins soaked in menstrual blood into a friend’s home?” She added, “I am nobody to speak on Supreme Court verdict as I’m a serving Cabinet minister. Would you take sanitary napkins steeped in menstrual blood into a friend’s home? And would you think it is respectful if you did the same when you walked into the house of god? That is the difference. I have the right to pray and not to desecrate. That is the difference we need to recognise and respect.”
Soon, the story was lapped up by media houses. However, Irani was quick to react. On her Twitter handle, she said she was calling out a leading daily for coming up with the “fake news”. She also promised to put up her video soon.