KOTTAYAM: Shashi Tharoor on Monday graduated as a ‘Kerala Nair’ and became only the third political leader, after veterans K Karunakaran and Oommen Chandy, to inaugurate the prestigious Mannam jayanthi celebrations, organised by the NSS in Perunna.
Donning a ‘kasavu mundu’ and ‘veshti’, the hallmark of a traditional Nair patriarch, Tharoor quoted Mannathu Padmanabhan in an apparent dig at Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan.
“Mannathu Padmanabhan had said on many occasions that organising Nairs was a tough task as one Nair always found it difficult to accept another. Though Mannam said it around a century ago, I experience it in my political career even now,” he said. Tharoor’s remark at the 146th jayanthi celebrations of the NSS founder also put a few other Congress leaders on the back foot. Apart from Satheesan, other senior leaders like Ramesh Chennithala and K C Venugopal also belong to the Nair community.
Speaking to reporters after the function, Tharoor dismissed suggestions that he was referring to Satheesan. “In fact, I quoted Mannathu Padmanabhan. It is a fact that I have had to face such an experience on several occasions. But I didn’t mean any particular person,” he said.Making amends for a previous slight of Tharoor by terming him a “Delhi Nair”, the NSS accorded the Thiruvananthapuram MP a rousing reception at its headquarters.
“I had called Tharoor a Delhi Nair, when he arrived to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009. We invited him to this function to correct that mistake. Tharoor is not a Delhi Nair, but the son of Kerala. He is a global citizen,” NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said, adding there was no one more worthy to inaugurate the Mannam jayanthi celebrations.
In fact, Tharoor is the only political leader who is not a chief minister to be invited by the NSS to inaugurate the Mannam jayanthi celebrations. Both Karunakaran and Chandy were bestowed the honour when they were serving as chief ministers.
Satheesan welcomes Sukumaran Nair’s praise for Tharoor
The NSS’ support has come as a shot in the arm for Tharoor who is eyeing a bigger role in state politics. Sukumaran Nair’s praise for Tharoor comes at a time when his relations with Satheesan are strained.
The NSS general secretary had made a scathing attack on the leader of opposition a few weeks back in Paravoor, Satheesan’s constituency. Talking to reporters, Satheesan, who skipped Mannam jayanthi this year, welcomed Nair’s praise for Tharoor. “I would welcome praise for any Congress leader. There are a lot of Congress leaders who attend the jayanthi celebrations regularly,” he said.
Venugopal dismissed talk of disquiet within the Congress and said the party is united. While senior party leaders, including Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, K Muraleedharan, Anto Antony, M K Raghavan, were present at the function, Ramesh Chennithala left before Tharoor’s arrival. The NSS invited Tharoor for the event when he is reaching out to various community leaders and other prominent persons.
He has completed his public outreach programmes in Malabar and Central Travancore, where he met Muslim and Christian community leaders. In his speech, Tharoor waxed eloquent on the contributions of Mannam. “Mannathu Padmanabhan had always maintained a modern mind. He brought modernisation in the education sector of the state. At the same time, he had been deeply rooted to Indian culture. His far-sighted visions are still relevant in the 21st century,” he said.