Thiruvananthapuram: In a fresh twist to the Sabarimala controversy, a senior Kerala bureaucrat has said that the Karnataka Government was likely to take up as an issue of untouchability the furore over Kannada actress Jaimala's claim that she had touched the deity of Lord Ayyappa.
E K Bharath Bhushan, who is in charge of Devaswoms or temple boards, said that he has received a letter from the Karnataka Assembly Secretary saying that the State Assembly was planning to take up the Jaimala issue as one of untouchability, and has asked him to convey it to the Kerala Government for its views.
"They have decided to take it up as an issue of untouchability. After discussing with the Kerala government I will give a reply," Bhushan said.
The Karnataka Government is also concerned over the actress being hounded, he added.
Jaimala's claim that she had touched the deity, in contravention of temple tradition, during a visit to Sabarimala 20 years ago led to a huge furore in June.
The actress made the "revelation" in a letter to astrologer P Unnikrishna Panicker, who said the deity had been defiled by the touch.
The Ayyappa temple, located in the Western Ghats in Pathanamthitta district, is very strict in observance of rules not allowing women who are in the menstrual age to enter the temple.
After Jaimala's claim, the temple priests held a meeting and decided to observe an elaborate two-year "cleansing" ritual.
Last week, the Kerala government ordered a crime branch probe into Jaimala's disclosure. Police officials from Kerala are slated to go to Karnataka to question Jaimala.
The crime branch probe was ordered after a vigilance officer attached to the Travancore Devasom Board, the custodian of the Sabarimala temple, was asked to question Jaimala. However, the actress refused to cooperate in the probe.
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