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NSS gen secy’s remarks on Sabarimala sparks fresh political row
Thiruvanthapuram Nair Service Society general secretary G Sukumaran Nair’s remarks that Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees were “still bitter” about the events in 2018 triggered a fresh political row on Wednesday after Kerala law minister A K Balan alleged that the socio-educational body leader had scripted “history” by making political remarks on the issue
Thiruvanthapuram Nair Service Society general secretary G Sukumaran Nair’s remarks that Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees were “still bitter” about the events in 2018 triggered a fresh political row on Wednesday after Kerala law minister A K Balan alleged that the socio-educational body leader had scripted “history” by making political remarks on the issue.
Speaking to reporters on the day of polling on Tuesday, Nair said the people of Kerala wanted a change of rule in the state and that there should be a government that stood for values and faith.
Launching a fresh attack on the social body leader for his remarks, Balan said on Wednesday: “He will go down in history as the one who sacrificed the organisation’s policy of (maintaining) equidistance (from politics).”
The minister on Tuesday had filed a complaint against Nair with the chief electoral officer for “misusing the traditions and names of Gods in an unprecedented manner” on polling day. He added that the general secretary had deliberately tried to polarise voters and portrayed the polls as a battle between believers and non-believers.
Speaking on similar lines Communist Party of India (Marxist) party secretary A Vijayaraghavan said: “He (Nair) made a political statement. It was not expected of him.”
Senior party leader M A Baby and CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran also decried the statement.
The NSS, however, asserted that it was not a sin to point out the agonies and reservations of the believers and that it cannot be intimidated. “I said this when newsmen asked about the temple issue. I only shared the concern of millions of believers. It is not a sin in the country to say I am a believer. Let the government go ahead with its legal move,” Nair said.
The opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party also rallied behind the social body over the temple row that has been one of the major poll planks during campaigns against the ruling party.
“CPI(M) leaders are attacking the NSS blatantly. Every organisation has the right to air its opinion. It has every right to point out the concern of believers. The NSS has always fought for them and it has remained consistent in its position since the temple case began,” former chief minister Oommen Chandy said, adding that the ruling party was turning intolerant as it was expecting a humiliating defeat.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP state president K Surendran said: “Fearing a defeat, the CPI(M) has trained its gun on the NSS.”
A body founded by freedom fighter and social reformer Mannath Padmanabhan in 1947, the NSS holds enough influence among upper caste Nairs and roughly constitute 13 to 14 per cent of the Hindu population in the state.
The body’s stance on Sabarimala has been constant right from the beginning when the Indian Young Lawyers’ Association filed a public interest litigation in Supreme Court in 2006, challenging the temple’s practice of denying entry to women of child-bearing age, saying it was discriminatory and against gender justice.
“We have been fighting for the temple customs for many years. It is wrong to mix it (customs) with gender equality. Different temples have different customs,” Nair said.
During the temple agitation in 2018, the body had taken a proactive stand against the Supreme Court order that removed restrictions on women belonging to the 10-50 age group. Review petitions are pending before a nine-member bench of the apex court.
