Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 17 (IANS): Kerala Devasom Minister K.Radhakrishnan has earned the public ire for treating the holy water of the famed Sabarimala temple as a hand sanitiser.

The Devasom Minister arrived at the famed temple along with Travancore Devasom Board president Ananthagopan and local legislator Pramod Narayanan on Monday to attend a temple function during which the priests opens the temple to prepare for welcoming devotees for the new fresh season, the next day.

As is the custom, the priest pours the 'holy water' on the palms of the people who consume it a bit and smear the rest over their head in reverence.

With a battery of press photographers and more than a dozen TV channel cameras waiting to capture these moments, Radhakrishnan was caught using the holy water like a sanitiser.

The act has created a furore in the social media with many accusing the Minister of

"disrespecting" the holy water, while senior CPI-M leader Ananthagopan did what any devout Hindu would do, so did Narayan, a member of the Kerala Congress( M).

Radhakrishnan hails from the Scheduled Caste community and is a former Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.