THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A man who wore a t-shirt with the picture of Lord Ayyappa was the star attraction at the Lok Sabha polling booth at Kalady in Thiruvananthapuram. Nakul T G, a 49-year-old ice cream vendor, of Thamalam, said he wore the customised t-shirt to express his ire against making Sabarimala a battleground. “I’m a Hindu and an ardent devotee of Lord Ayyappa.
I’ve visited the shrine after observing the customary 41-day penance for 22 years in a row. However, last time I did not go since the situation at the shrine was heartbreaking,” he said. It cost him R300 to customise the t-shirt from a printing centre. Nakul said he enjoyed the attention at the polling booth. “I had to stand in the queue for about 45 minutes.
Several people appreciated me for this. The polling officers or the police did not raise any objection to my attire. If they had opposed, I would have dared to cast my vote topless. Luckily, it did not happen,” he said. Nakul blamed the LDF government for aiding the violation of customs at the shrine under the cover of the SC verdict.