THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Punnala Sreekumar, convenor of the Renaissance Protection Committee, has resigned from the post. He is also the general secretary of Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS).
Punnala cited his busy schedule as the reason for his resignation. But there are reports that he was unhappy with the functioning of the committee. The committee was formed to mobilise support for the government's stands to execute the Supreme Court verdict that allowed the entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple. However, after the huge setback in the Lok Sabha polls, the committee was almost dormant.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a meeting of the committee. The chief minister urged the Renaissance Protection Committee to lay focus on the protection of the Constitution. He was speaking after inaugurating a meeting of the committee on Thursday. A massive people’s campaign should be conducted for the protection of the Constitution, he said.
The Constitution has a clear stand against social inequalities, the chief minister said. It will help in the protection of renaissance values. The Constitution banned untouchability and paved the way for legal steps against those following such social evils. There are planned moves against the Constitution. It will defeat the hard-won rights and freedom that we enjoy now.
The chief minister called for awareness programmes on various laws. A legal literacy movement is the need of the hour. Renaissance movements and progressive organisations conducted different agitations in the state based on the vision that all humans are equal. Progressive governments in the state took steps to reaffirm the changes brought by these organisations.
The renaissance protection committee was formed in the backdrop of planned moves against renaissance values. These forces are still active and are taking efforts to create division in society on the basis of religion and caste and to sabotage gender justice, he said. The committee met for the first time after the second Pinarayi Vijayan government came to power.