Kozhikode: A day after his speech at the inauguration of a book fest here lit a heated political debate, veteran littérateur M T Vasudevan Nair on Friday clarified that he only expressed the reality of the time and did not intend to criticise any one personally.
Inaugurating the event MT, as the novellist-filmmaker, spoke against totalitarianism, personality cults and the corruption of power politics. Though the writer never named any leader, it was construed as a veiled attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who shared the stage with him.
In his explanation, MT said he never intended to criticise anyone but only talked about the current 'reality'. Writer N E Sudheer, who visited MT at his home, took to Facebook to post the explanation.
“I didn't criticise anyone. I only wanted to talk about the present reality. That's it. If my words have influenced anyone for self-criticism, I think that's a good impact,” Sudheer wrote quoting MT.
Sudheer noted that MT had told him that he prepared a speech for the event. “I never thought that the speech would spark a political row. I had discussed the same with MT sir on Thursday evening. He was marking the politics of his time accurately. Kerala took the speech seriously as it was MT who delivered it,” wrote Sudheer.
Addressing the event, MT condemned that governance was no longer a public service as rulers have become more dictatorial. Though he criticised corrupt politics, he tactfully avoided naming the LDF government under Pinarayi in Kerala or the NDA government under Narendra Modi.
“We have buried the theory that identified power as an opportunity to serve the public. The decline of moral values in politics is not a new topic of discussion. And these discussions were often concluded by assuming that eligible people are not winning elections. Today, political activities have become an approved strategy to fetch power. Today, either hegemony or totalitarianism is described as power. When someone wins a seat in assembly or parliament, they find it as an opportunity to have complete control,” said MT expressing concern over the power politics.
The veteran's speech went viral on social media platforms as a section of netizens attributed his sharp references to Vijayan.
As the statements triggered a row, senior CPM leader and LDF convener E P Jayarajan came out against the campaign, saying that the writer's speech was misinterpreted.
