THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mayor Arya Rajendran courted a controversy on Monday after a photograph of hers with Swami Suryanarayanan Guruji was widely shared on social media. While on a visit to his house, the Mayor is seen posing with him. The image was shared by Suryanarayanan Guruji on his social media page with the caption ‘Our Mayor visited me with her father. Wishing her the best for her future and may ministerial positions find her.’
Controversy erupted after reports surfaced that CPM leaders were unhappy with the Mayor’s action, which is against party practices. However, CPM district general secretary Anavoor Nagappan said no such issues exist. “As a Mayor, she will meet a lot of people, will attend functions at various places where religious leaders are present. How will we censure her meeting the people she is representing? It becomes a wrong only if she doesn’t respect people from all walks of life,” Nagappan said.
D R Anil, CPM parliamentary party leader in the corporation council, said the only instruction the Mayor is given is not to associate with extremist groups or functions they attend. “I am not aware of such an issue. I haven’t received any such reports or complaints. However, we have started house visits. All leaders are doing it. Even I visited houses of people from all walks of life. I visited churches too and met priests. Everyone votes and they are all people who believe in democracy. How can she not meet them? Former Mayor K Sreekumar said that there is nothing to criticise in the incident.
“As Mayor, we meet a lot of people. We take part in many events and take pictures with many people. There is no restriction from the party since Mayor is a public figure. I myself have met a lot of people like that and it’s part of the position. It shouldn’t be used to target a person,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suryanarayanan Guruji posted a response to the critics.“It is natural that a Mayor who is my neighbour now will visit my house after she reaches such an esteemed position. Rather than encouraging her and boosting her morale, trying to bring down such a young leader is deplorable,” he said.