Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former minister of state for the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, on Tuesday criticised made during a programme telecast by Asianet News, a Malayalam TV channel that he owns, reported The Indian Express.

In a Facebook post, Chandrasekhar claimed that several Malayalees had reached out to him saying they were hurt by the programme’s content.

“They felt the programme was ridiculing the Kumbh Mela,” he said. “My family was among crores of devotees who participated in the Maha Kumbh mela. I have brought this to the attention of those at the helm of Asianet News. I have asked them that there should not be such careless, sarcastic remarks about such an event, which is attended by lakhs of devotees.”

Chandrasekhar added: “As in any religion, faith is important for every Hindu. We, crores of Hindus across the country, including Kerala, want that to be respected.”

The controversy stems from the latest episode of the weekly programme Cover Story, which was aired on March 1. The show commented on the increasing number of people from Kerala attending the Kumbh Mela and taking a dip at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.

“Hundreds of people from Kerala took...