Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated religious “equality” during a visit to the Saibaba temple in Shirdi on Friday but did not mention that women were being denied entry to Kerala’s Sabarimala shrine despite the Supreme Court lifting the age bar on them.

“Here, one gets to witness the spirit of equality of all religions and people from all faiths bow before Saibaba,” Modi wrote in the visitors’ book.

Shortly before Modi’s visit, Pune police detained activist Trupti Desai to thwart a possible attempt to block the Prime Minister’s convoy.

“The alacrity with which the police acted against me is absent against those protesting the entry of women at Sabarimala,” Desai said.

On Wednesday, Desai had written to the police chief of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, where Shirdi is located, seeking a meeting with Modi to discuss the Sabarimala row and threatening to block Modi’s convoy if denied.