KOCHI: As the renaissance movement is waning in Kerala, the state government should come out with a clear stand in the issue, Kerala Pulaya Maha Sabha (KPMS) state general secretary Punnala Sreekumar said here on Tuesday. He was speaking at the ‘Navothana Smriti’ organised by KPMS Ernakulam district committee as part of its 79th Ayyankali commemoration day at Ernakulam Town Hall.
“The LDF review report on Sabarimala as a cause of debacle in Lok Sabha polls is an ironic act of agreeing with the opponents’ views in the issue. It was the NDA which made it a political tool in the election. After defying the argument in the campaign, the recent development by the LDF creates a great concern in the public,” said Sreekumar. His comment comes at a time when many inside the LDF has been criticising the government’s position in the Sabarimala issue as one of the major reasons behind the drubbing in the LS polls.
Interestingly, the 620-km-long Women’s Wall, the brainchild of KPMS, was organised as a support to the state government’s resolve to implement the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages access to Sabarimala. Following the recent comments by LDF leaders, KPMS said it will support the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Government only after having clarity about the renaissance movement.
Cartoon controversy
KPMS also lashed out against the discourse in the name of Kerala Lalithakala Akademi award-winning K K Subhash’s cartoon which portrayed rape-accused Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal. “When did Kerala decide to move away from laughter and creativity? If the government prefers to move forward with the renaissance, then they should change their position in the cartoon controversy too,” he said.
N K Rameshan, district president; L Rameshan, state treasurer; P V Babu, state vice-president; T A Venu, Ramesh Mani, both secretariat members, C K Sivan, M Ravi, K M Suresh, state committee members of KPMS also spoke.