THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellapally Natesan today hit back at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi over her veiled attack on him at the Sivagiri Mutt, saying that she soiled the mutt's sanctity by delivering a "political" speech.
Reacting to Gandhi's remarks in her address yesterday at the Sivagiri annual pilgrimage that a few individuals were trying to make political gains out of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP), Natesan claimed that he was being attacked for not favouring Congress.
SNDP, an organisation of numerically strong backward Ezhava community in Kerala, had recently floated a political party 'Bharat Dharma Jana Sena' and it was in the process of having a tie up with BJP.
Coming down heavily on Gandhi, Natesan said she defiled the sanctity of the place by turning the occasion into a Congress meet.
"She actually delivered a political speech", he said. Natesan also reminded the AICC chief that SNDP was not a feeder organisation of Congress and it was not for her to decide whom it should ally with.
Saint and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru had established the Sivagiri mutt--a major spiritual-cum-pilgrim centre of the Ezhava community-- as a prime symbol of social reformation and social equality.