KOTTAYAM: After an 11-year-long stand-off, the Nair Service Society on Thursday rolled out the red carpet for senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who inaugurated the Mannam jayanthi celebrations at the NSS headquarters in Perunna, marking a significant moment of redemption for the seasoned politician.
NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair showered praise on Chennithala, referring to him as the ‘son of the NSS’, who was the most deserving person to inaugurate celebrations.
“Unexpectedly, the man who had initially agreed to inaugurate the celebrations conveyed his inconvenience. When we approached Ramesh, he graciously accepted our invitation and promised to follow the instructions of NSS,” Nair said.
Some news organisations, however, tried to stir up a controversy over the development, he said.
“They only seem to have issues when a Nair visits the NSS, a problem not shared by other community organisations. Ramesh was invited not as a Congress leader, rather as a member of the NSS. The organisation is not looking to gain from Ramesh’s political clout. He has been a son of this soil from his younger days. He is a son of the NSS,” Nair said.
In his inaugural address, Chennithala said his links with the NSS are indestructible. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also lauded Nair for leading the community organisation in keeping with the principles of its founder Mannathu Padmanabhan.
Despite Nair denying political motives in inviting Chennithala to the jayanthi fete, it is clear that NSS is throwing its weight behind the Congress leader, thereby shifting the dynamics within the Congress party and the UDF.
Shortly after the NSS extended the olive branch, Chennithala was invited to an event being organised by the Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, further indicating his re-emergence in state politics.