Those who’ve been following the dramatic developments in Kerala’s political landscape, where at the centre of action was the veteran of 50 years in political life, K M Mani, were forced to seriously brush up their familiarity with the Bible as the narrative had many hunting old leather-bound volumes for enlightenment on the context.
Right from the moment Mani left his official residence in the state capital till he reached his home town Pala, bereft of the “cross” of tainted ministership, his numerous public speeches were laced with verses from the Bible. Here are a few samples:
Isaiah 54:7- “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.” The reference was obviously about his ouster from the state cabinet.
Luke 20: 25- “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mani said he had given, both to Pala and Kerala.
Luke 15:11-32- The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Clearly, Mani was referring to P C George, his bête noire.
Earlier, George had quoted Ecclesiastes 7-7: “Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.”
At the receiving end of the barb was Mani.
For the benefit of those who haven’t closely followed the goings-on in the state political arena, the Bible has never been the exclusive property of Christians. One only needs to revisit the March 10 Assembly speech of die-hard Marxist and Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan.
He quoted Mathew, 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” No coincidence that the broadside was against Mani’s involvement in the bar bribery case. Mani chose to cover his flanks by likening the speech to the Anti-Christ quoting the scriptures.
Moving briefly away from the Bible, VS did remind Mani about the fate of Julius Caesar when he said, “You should keep in mind that there are many ‘Brutuses’ around you. Brutus said it’s not that he didn’t love Caesar, but he loved Rome more. Similarly, they may say it’s not that they don’t like Mani, but they like UDF more,” VS had said then. Mani resigned following High Court reference to the need for Caesar’s wife to be above suspicion. VS had donned the garb of an Oracle.
Not surprising then that Mani had his quota of verse for VS too: Luke 23:28- Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children.” Mani advised VS to weep for his son, the hint being that an attack was imminent on him as well.
Giving perspective is the BJP seeking a political, if not ideological partner in the Kerala Congress, with a large Christian vote bank. The state president of BJP chose the same day of Mani’s journey back to Pala to publicly state that his party is not averse to entering an alliance with the Kerala Congress.
Meanwhile, for the wily politician, with 13 state budget presentations under his belt, it may be time to go back to the drawing board and rework strategy for another chapter of political evangelisation to feed his flock. And the verses will surely follow.
vinodmathew@newindianexpress.com