THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ripples over Sabarimala refuse to die down even after the state has cast its vote. The CPM camp which had till now maintained a restraining calm with the NSS, has come down heavily on the organisation for trying to influence voters against the Left during elections.
The NSS general secretary was clearly making a political statement of sorts when he spoke about believers being angry at the LDF government over the Sabarimala issue, alleged CPM secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan. With other senior CPM leaders too criticising the NSS in this regard, it was the Congress that came out in defence of the latter.
Coming down heavily on NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair on Wednesday, Vijayaraghavan accused the NSS head of attempting to send out a political message in a bid to turn voters against the LDF. He however opined that the members of the community need not toe the stance of their leader and that would be evident once poll results are out, as seen in the earlier elections. “Nair made a futile attempt to send out a politically biased message with an intent to defeat the Left front. But election results will prove to him that his community does not share his views,” he said.
A slew of other CPM leaders too lashed out against Sukumaran Nair. CPM central committee member A K Balan said Nair should have the guts to clearly reveal his political inclination. The law minister also alleged that a message was sent from the NSS headquarters on the eve of the polls that votes should favour believers. Sensing a conspiracy, the minister said, “If he has a political stance, he should say so. He brought in Lord Ayyappa in a bid to turn voters against the Left.”
The Congress however criticised the CPM for trying to intimidate the NSS leadership. While senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy condemned the CPM’s verbal attacks against the community organisation, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said the Left should not try to intimidate the community organisation. Such attempts won’t succeed in a democratic society, Chennithala warned.
The CPM has been attacking the NSS due to its fear of failure, said Oommen Chandy. “Everyone in Kerala, including social organisations, has the right to take a stance and air the same in public. The NSS stance on Sabarimala is not something new. The organisation has been fighting long for this very thing,” said Chandy.
NO POLITICS IN POLL-DAY COMMENT, SAYS G SUKUMARAN NAIR
Kottayam: With NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair’s comment on Sabarimala issue creating ripples on the polling day, Nair clarified that his comment was not political, but a natural response of a faithful person. Nair also warned against the attempt to politicise his poll-day statement.
“In fact I revealed the prevailing political situation factually to the queries of mediapersons. I didn’t intend any politics in it. However some persons are trying to portray my statement as politically motivated, which is not fair,” Nair said. Nair’s response was in the wake of the remarks of CPM leaders A Vijayaraghavan and A K Balan against the NSS general secretary on Wednesday.