The parish council of a prominent cathedral in Kerala’s Thrissur has formed a special committee to examine a “gold” crown donated to the church by actor-turned-BJP politician Suresh Gopi since many parishioners feel it is made of gold-coated copper.

Gopi had offered the “gold” crown weighing over 500g to Mother Mary’s statue at Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral in Thrissur on January 15. The actor, accompanied by his wife and daughter, had adorned the statue with the crown.

But it was immediately construed as a political gimmick in keeping with his efforts to get the BJP ticket for Thrissur.

The offering was made two days before his daughter got married on January 17 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the who’s who of the Malayalam film industry at the Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayur in Thrissur.

Parishioner and ward councillor Leela Varghese of the Congress told The Telegraph on Monday: “I raised the matter with the parish priest since there have been a lot of rumours about the genuineness of the crown. The parish council will examine and announce its findings. Since the parish council always examines the gifts and offerings received, they too thought it was ideal to examine this crown.”

Gopi has yet to comment on the controversy.