Thiruvananthapuram: A former principal secretary to Prime Minister has claimed that his mother was allowed entry into the famous Sabarimala temple.

Thottuvelil Krishna Pillai Ayappan Nair, who formerly served as principal secretary and later as an adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has come up with a new revelation over Sabarimala temple.

Nair said his chorunu ceremony (chorunu is a ceremony wherein the newborn is fed with rice for the first time) was conducted in Sabarimala temple and his mother was also present in there at that time. This incident happened in the 1940s, according to him.

Women in the age group of 10 and 50 are banned from entering Sabarimala temple.

He said Pandalam king had advised his parents to make his chorunu ceremony in Sabarimala. His mom, father and uncle were present there for the function.

According to Nair, earlier ladies had entered Sabarimala temple without any restrictions but now people are creating problems.

It is argued that a 1991 Kerala High Court judgment supported the restriction on women devotees into the temple.

Social activist Rahul Easwar, however, disagreed with Nair. He told MyNation, "I disagree with extreme humility and with respectful seniority towards Thottuvelil Krishna Pillai Ayappan Nair. I would like to point out that in the British records back in 1812 it is mentioned that young women were not allowed to enter Sabarimala even 200 years back. It is documented."