Chennithala meets Church, NSS leaders

Kottayam: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday visited the headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Nair Service Society in the district. He reached the Orthodox Church headquarters at Devalokam in the morning, where he was received by synod secretary Yuhanon Mar Chrisostomos Metropolitan. As the Church Synod was in session, several metropolitans were present. Chennithala later held a closed-door meeting with Church head Baselios Marthoma Mathews III for about 15 minutes.Speaking to reporters afterwards, Chennithala described the visit as a friendly one aimed at strengthening ties, but did not rule out the possibility that political matters were discussed during the meeting. Chennithala later visited the NSS headquarters in Perunna, where he paid floral tributes at Mannam Samadhi and held talks with NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair.Reacting to the visit, Satheesan said Chennithala did not require his permission to meet Church leaders. "He is my leader. He will go anywhere to meet people and seek support. When contesting elections, I will approach everyone. But communal appeals will be opposed," he said.tnn