The restriction on the entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple has nothing to do with gender inequality, Ramya Haridas, MP-elect from Alathur Lok Sabha seat, has said.

Ms. Ramya, a native of Kozhikode district and a former president of the Kunnamangalam block panchayat, was speaking at a ‘Meet-the-press’ here on Thursday.

The Congress leader, while claiming that she was an ardent devotee of Lord Ayyappa, pointed out that she could not visit the temple when she was a child. “However, I don’t wish to visit breaking traditions... I am ready to wait till my age permits me to go there. There is no issue of gender inequality, ” Ms. Ramya said.

She credited her victory over Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) incumbent MP P.K. Biju to the support of the voters of Alathur constituency who appreciated her beyond political affiliations. “Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes colonies in the constituency were very supportive of me. The solidarity expressed by women needs to be mentioned too,” Ms. Ramya said. The machinery of the United Democratic Front worked like a well-oiled machinery in all the seven Assembly segments though a majority of them have LDF MLAs, she said.

Asked about her immediate priorities as MP, Ms. Ramya said that many areas within the constituency had been badly affected by the floods last year. Environment-friendly reconstruction works would have to be taken up there. The farmers in the constituency were in dire straits and they need help, she said.