The Congress party in Kerala and the UDF Government it heads in the State have come out in support of spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, fondly called Amma by her disciples, and her Mutt at Amritapuri, Vallikkavu in Kollam even as discussions in cyberspace continued to rage on the allegations leveled against the institution by a former disciple, Gail Tredwell.
Kerala’s newly appointed Congress chief VM Sudheeran on Monday said that there was no reason to suspect the explanation offered by the Mutt over the matter. Sudheeran said that there was no need for any more discussions on the matter as Mata Amritanandamayi herself had responded to the charges.
Sudheeran’s response came two days after Kerala’s CM Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala defended the Mutt. Chandy had said that those who were criticising Amma and her Ashram should remember the services they had been doing to the Kerala society and humanity.
Responding to the controversy raging mainly in social networking sites and in Kerala over Australia-born Tredwell’s allegations against the Mutt, Amma had said on Saturday that her Ashram was an open book and that controversy was being created by some people who were determined to create problems by whipping up religious sentiments.