Stance on Sabarimala already made clear; not concerned by protests: NSS general secy

Thiruvananthapuram/Kottayam, Sep 27 (PTI) NSS General Secretary G Sukumaran Nair on Saturday said he has already indicated his clear stance on the Sabarimala issue and was not concerned about the protests against him.

He was responding to reporters’ queries after arriving at the headquarters of the Nair Service Society (NSS) at Perunna in Kottayam district for a meeting of the organisation.

When asked about his recent remarks supporting the LDF government on the Sabarimala issue, Nair said, "Unlike others, I have already clearly indicated my stance—not a political stance—on the matter. So, please don’t keep asking about it".

When informed that there were posters and banners in many places against him, he said he "was not concerned".

"Please don’t scare me with that. It will give me some publicity," the NSS general secretary said.

Visuals on TV channels showed various posters accusing him of "stabbing the Nair community in the back," similar to Kattappa’s act in the iconic Telugu film 'Baahubali'.

When reporters pointed out that there were protests against his stance, Nair said, "Let the protests come. We can face any protest." Nair had recently stated in multiple interviews that he trusted the Left government on the Sabarimala issue, which had assured the community that the age-old rituals in the hill shrine would be preserved.

While criticising the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for "its inaction after the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala", he also took a swipe at the Congress, saying the party "appeared uninterested in Hindu votes." Later in the day, when reporters told Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan about Nair’s stance and asked whether the Congress party’s efforts "to pacify the NSS had failed," he said no such efforts were made.

"We did not make any such efforts. We clearly stated that it was a political decision of ours not to attend the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. There is no change in that stance. The UDF in Kerala took a firm secular stand. We are against both majority and minority communalism. We do not have a policy of appeasement. It is the CPI(M) which has an appeasement policy," Satheesan contended while speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

He further said that the CPI(M) was now favouring "majority communalism", while earlier it supported "minority communalism".

The opposition leader also said that the Congress and the UDF were not trying to persuade the NSS general secretary to change his stance.

“They are a community organisation. They are entitled to have their own views. We have no complaint towards anyone's stance. We have not criticised it either. Some organisations attended the conclave, some did not. That was their decision. We do not have a say in the decision-making of the NSS,” Satheesan said.

“It is the CPI(M) which changed its stance and not us. We have always stood with the devotees and their interests,” he added.

The CPI(M) in Kerala has turned into "an extreme right-wing political party," the opposition leader claimed. PTI HMP SSK HMP SSK ADB