Resentment is brewing in the Congress and its allies in Kerala over state party president K Sudhakaran's recent "pro-RSS remarks".
The party's national leadership sought clarification from Sudhakaran and cautioned him against making such remarks.
Even as Sudhakaran tried to wriggle out of the row saying that it was merely 'a slip of the tongue', many party leaders expressed their displeasure over the slew of remarks.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan told reporters on Tuesday that the concerns some party leaders and coalition parties raised over the remarks would be taken seriously.
Later, AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar told reporters that he spoke to Sudhakaran. He said the latter expressed regret over the remarks and assured Anwar that such instances won't be repeated.
Congress's key coalition partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was also unhappy. IUML state general secretary P M A Salam said the repeated remarks from a top Congress leader could weaken the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
Last week Sudhakaran had said the Congress protected the RSS from CPM's attack in the Kannur district during the outfit's initial days in the state. He justified the statement by saying it was an effort to protect the functional freedom of all outfits in a democracy.
On Monday, during a function for the birth anniversary of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Sudhakaran said that Nehru compromised with communal outfits to uphold India's democracy and hence, RSS leader and Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee was made a member in Nehru's cabinet.