The SC/ST leader's comment is a break from his party's stand on the matter.
BJP MP Udit Raj has welcomed the entry of women into the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala's Sabarimala as the path forward for gender equality. His comment is at odds with his party, which has staunchly opposed any attempt by women devotees to offer prayers at the hill shrine.
"In my personal capacity & chairman of Parisangh I support the entry of women in ayyappa temple. How woman can be impure when man is born from her.God is omnipresent means he is out of temple too. In the eyes of constitution both genders are equal," Raj had tweeted on Wednesday.
He also addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi statement in an interview to news agency ANI that the bar on the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala shrine was a matter of tradition. Raj said traditions are not static ideas, and they evolve constantly.
"There was a time when lower caste women in Kerala were not allowed to cover their breasts, or when child marriage was legal in the country and even Sati was legal, all these traditions were ended. So traditions evolve all the time and we must welcome the entry of women into Sabarimala," he told The Hindu.
"The entry of women in Sabarimala is to be welcomed, and it is the way ahead for gender equality and for equality before law for all," said Raj, the BJP MP for Northwest Delhi.
Raj, the chairperson of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations, also questioned the notions of ritual purity that have given rise to the bar on women under the age of 50 from entering the temple. "Men are born from the wombs of women, so shouldn't men too be considered impure, how can women be considered impure," he asked.
Activists had until Friday blocked attempts by women to enter the shrine at Sabarimala. Numerous women devotees who had attempted to proceed to the temple with police escorts had been forced to turn around in the face of strong protests.
On Wednesday morning, two women in their 40s - Kanakadurga and Bindu - entered the temple with a police escort. The temple has since been shut for 'purification'.
Both the Congress and the BJP in Kerala have been protesting against the Left Front government for its stated intention to implement the Supreme Court verdict that said women could not be barred from offering prayers at the temple.
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 "All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations chairperson Udit Raj (right) with BJP president Amit Shah (left).")
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