Mumbai, July 20: After the Maharashtra government passed a bill about taking over Shani Shingnapur temple trust in the Nagpur Monsoon Assembly Session, activist Trupti Desai who stood for women’s rights to enter the sanctum sanctorum of temples has placed another demand. Desai has now asked the state to appoint a woman as the chief of the temple trust body. Moreover, she has also demanded allowing a female priest to perform the pooja at the temple, as per a news report in DNA.

As per Hindu rituals and Vedas, it's been claimed that Lord Shani did now allow women to be around him. Taking the old orthodox reference, the temple authority barred the entry of woman into the temple's sanctum sanctorum which led to an uproar among female activists. Earlier, they have staged protests against the discrimination and have also been detained by the police force.

The issue had grabbed the attention of various people from different forums, some of whom who supported it and others who opposed it. However, the Bombay High Court ordered that women should also be equally allowed like men to visit near the Lord's statue and seek blessings. After the order, the temple authority has restricted the entry of both men and woman near the deity statue except the priest who performs the pooja.

With the recent demand now taking centre stage, one has to wait and watch whether the government will fulfill it or not. Experts who have been following the case believe that Desai's recent demand will draw one more controversy and will add more fodder to the already burning issue of letting female devotees in.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2018 02:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).