![An amulet or a glucose monitor? The big mystery over what Kodiyeri was wearing](http://media.assettype.com/tnm%2Fimport%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fkodiyeri_amulet_main.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Even as CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has landed in a soup over a speech delivered in Payyannur of Kannur district, a different, more enticing fare seems to be cooking too.
Before the controversy could get any spicier, Kodiyeri came forward with a bucket of cold water.
But for 62-year-old Kodiyeri, this is not the first time that he has faced flak over religious beliefs. In 2007, a major controversy broke out when his wife visited the Kadambuzha Devi temple in Kerala’s Malappuram district to pray for her husband’s well-being. It was widely reported that Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s and his son’s name figured in the VIP list of “poomoodal pooja”. He was the state Home Minister at the time.