ALAPPUZHA: A senior Congress leader here has landed in a controversy after he inaugurated the fund collection for a temple construction at Pallippuram near Cherthala. District Congress Committee vice-chairman and Pallippuram Pattarya Samajam president T G Reghunatha Pillai was criticised by party workers and CPM cadre after some of the devotees and RSS leaders posted the photo of the fund collection for the Shri Ram temple in the area on social media.
Pillai inaugurated it by handing over the first donation to Ananda Padmanabhan Nampoothiri, chief priest of Sree Mahalakshmi temple at Kadavil in Pallippuram, on Sunday. Pillai said he had attended the function as the leader of the temple trust.
“The criticism is a part of the factional feud in the party. I am a true Congress worker. But I am also an ardent believer of Devi and have been an active leader of the temple trust for many years. Some persons, who faced the party ire in the local body poll debacle, was behind spreading this fake news on social media,” said Pillai.
DCC president M Liju supported his action and termed it as part of his post. Liju said it was not a programme of RSS, and hit back at CPM alleging that its Kumarapuram branch secretary L Thankammal had also donated money for the construction. But the party will seek an explanation from Pillai, the leaders said.