THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden faced criticism on social media for their Onam wishes which allegedly portrayed Vamana in poor light.
Isaac's tweet read: "Happy Onam! We celebrate Mahabali who did not discriminate by caste or creed, not Vamana who cheated him. This edition of harvest festival has something to celebrate. Kerala has announced floor prices for 14 types of vegetables in its drive for self sufficiency in vegetables."
BJP state president K Surendran was among those who criticised Isaac for referring to Vamana as a 'cheater'.
"Vamana is an incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu, god to crores of believers. Would he take such a stand on people of other religions? Isaac should apologise to the believers," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"To all those who have been upset about my Onam tweet: Accept that there can be many narratives. I was referring to the one by Sahodaran Aiyyapan, an ardent disciple of Sree Narayana Guru. If you are not convinced read his Onapatu, the most popular Onam song of Kerala," Isaac tweeted in respose.
Meanwhile, trouble began for Hibi Eden when he joined the chorus in criticising Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Vamana Jayanti greetings that included a painting of Vamana placing his foot over Mahabali's head.
Hibi tweeted: "All Malayalees deserve this...for the enthusiasm they showed to vote for AAP and Kejariwal...freebies come and go but culture, history, traditions can't be distorted like this...BJP and AAP does the same when it comes to this...B team of BJP".
Hibi's comments irked some who alleged that he too had ridiculed Vamana, an allegation to which he responded on Facebook.
"The Sangh Parivar's allegation against me is baseless. They haven't even read my tweet. I have not used the words Maha Vishnu or Vaman Moorthy in my tweets," he wrote.
A Catholic nun and school teacher based in Kottayam too courted controversy over their Onam wishes in the form of a video clip addressed to students and their parents.
"Onam is the gospel of the one who was knocked down" and the "timeless story of the one who received a gift knocking down the giver" were some references made in the clip that drew the ire of some parents.
The video has since gone viral on social media and compelled the teacher to tendered an apology through another video shot at a police station where she said her reference to Vamana Moorthi were due to ignorance.