Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy refused to criticise the NSS for their alleged closeness to the Sangh Parivar in the Sabarimala issue, not even its decision to participate in the Ayyappa Jyothi event organised by the parivar. Instead, Chandy was all praise for the consistent position taken by the NSS on the issue.
"What wrong did the NSS do," he asked during an exclusive chat with Onmanorama. "They stood for what they believed in. It has to be respected. But a government, and its chief minister, is unable to respect this. It is this loss of tolerance that will weaken the state and bring down all the social gains we had accumulated over the years," Chandy said.
He hinted that the government was subtly attempting to undermine the NSS. "Now, look at what they have done. They have removed Mannathu Padmanabhan's picture. Does this behove of a democratically elected government," he said. Chandy was referring to the the list of 32 reformers published in Kerala Sahithya Akademi's 'Keralam Orma Soochika - 2019', a diary of sorts. NSS founder Mannathu Padmanabhan was a notable absence. NSS general secretary Sukumaran Nair said it was an attempt to dishonour Mannathu Padmanabhan.
The Akademi, too, was not too apologetic either. An official statement said that it was not an exhaustive list and that Mannathu Padmanabhan's picture could be included at a later date. "This attempt to insult Mannathu Padmanabhan in the name of the Sahithya Akademi is an unpardonable mistake," Sukumaran Nair said.
Rubbing salt on the NSS wound, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had recently said that majority of NSS members were with the CPM. Chandy's rancour-free support is seen as a smart political move to bring the NSS back to the UDF fold. Studies had revealed that the UDF had suffered a massive erosion of Nair votes during the last Assembly elections. If during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, 34 per cent of the Nair votes had gone to the UDF, it dwindled to 20 during the 2016 Assembly polls.
An astute leader adept at building bridges, Chandy understands the need to work on pacifying the NSS. The relatively mild approach taken by the Congress in the Sabarimala issue had irritated Sukumaran Nair. It is now also known that Sukumaran Nair had gradually distanced himself from Ramesh Chennithala. During the UDF tenure, Oommen Chandy had faced his first major political humiliation when the NSS forced him to appoint Ramesh Chennithala as home minister.
Nonetheless, Chandy is too smart a leader to let the past dictate his actions. "I have a very close understanding of the NSS stand," Chandy said. "They stand for customs and traditions. They have expressed this opinion even earlier, when I was the chief minister. Sangh Parivar has nothing to do with the NSS stand," he said.
Chandy also found nothing amiss in the fact that the BJP was the only party the NSS was soft towards at the moment. "The Sangh Parivar might have attempted to create the impression that they alone was fighting for the Sabarimala issue. But simply because the parivar took a stand that was close to their long-held position doesn't mean that the NSS should say something against them," he said.
