Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 : Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member K.C. Venugopal on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Kerala government over its decision to organise the 'Ayyappa Congregation', accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of exploiting Lord Ayyappa sentiment for political gain.

This comes at a time when the Vijayan government is organising the Global Ayyappa Congregation on the banks of the famous river Pampa on Saturday, where 3,500 participants have registered.

In an open letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Venugopal termed the move 'sheer hypocrisy' and alleged that the government was attempting to cover up its past failures with theatrics.

'The same Chief Minister who once spearheaded the violation of Sabarimala traditions is now pretending to protect faith by leading the Ayyappa Congregation. The people of Kerala clearly see through the lack of sincerity and political motives behind this,' Venugopal wrote.

He warned that without addressing the questions raised by society, Vijayan would find it difficult to face the devotees at Pampa.

Referring to the women's entry issue, the Congress leader said the government's unilateral decision to enforce the Supreme Court verdict without dialogue with devotees had left deep wounds.

'The unrest created then still lingers in the minds of the faithful, and it is ironic that the very person responsible is now parading as a guardian of tradition,' he said.

Venugopal also hit out at the government's neglect of Sabarimala's infrastructure.

'In the past nine years, there has been no meaningful development -- whether in drinking water facilities, cleaning of the Pampa River, crowd management, or transportation. A government that cannot even safeguard the gold offerings made by devotees to Lord Ayyappa has no moral right to seek the trust of believers,' he charged.

He further accused CPI(M) Devaswom Ministers of insulting faith by refusing to bow before the deity.

Demanding clarity, Venugopal asked whether the LDF government would withdraw the controversial affidavit it had filed in the Supreme Court, which, he claimed, facilitated the violation of temple traditions.

At the very least, he urged, the government should withdraw cases against those who had participated in 'nama japa (protest)' marches.

Taking a swipe at the ruling party's ideological contradictions, Venugopal questioned whether the Ayyappa Congregation signalled a deviation from the CPI(M)'s atheistic roots, only to be abandoned after the Assembly elections.

He also demanded that the Chief Minister apologise to the Sabarimala Thantri, whom he had allegedly insulted during the women's entry agitation.

Earlier in the day, Devasom Minister V.N. Vasavan said in the Kerala Assembly that all arrangements for the upcoming Global Ayyappa Congregation, including participation from foreign delegates, had been completed.

'The Opposition is trying to obstruct the Global Ayyappa Congregation out of frustration after repeated failures. They first said, along with the RSS, that the congregation would be blocked. Then they went to the High Court and Supreme Court, but failed there as well. Now, with no RSS presence in the Assembly, they are trying to act on its behalf,' said Vasavan.

/IANS