Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday rejected allegations of pursuing "soft Hindutva" over his recent visit to the Kollur Mookambika temple, asserting that his faith was a personal matter protected by the Constitution.

Responding to questions at a press conference here, Satheesan said he has been visiting the Karnataka temple for the past 37 years and that branding him a "soft Hindutva" leader on that basis was baseless.

"When I go to the Mookambika temple, it is my personal right. I have the constitutional right to believe in God. How can that be called soft Hindutva," he asked.

The chief minister said he had been visiting the shrine since the 1990s and described himself as a devotee of the presiding deity there.

"I have been going to Mookambika temple for the last 37 years. I am a devotee of Kollur Mookambika. I am very happy to say that," he said.

In a sarcastic remark, Satheesan said it would have been odd if he had stopped visiting the temple after becoming the chief minister.

Hitting back at his critics, he wondered "which world they are living in" and alleged that they were insulting all those who visit places of worship.

"The majority of people visit temples, churches and mosques. Can anyone say that I should stop going to a temple because I have become the chief minister," Satheesan asked.

Alleging that his political opponents were raising the issue to divert attention from problems within their own party, Satheesan said they had nothing else to say and were making such allegations out of frustration.