The battle for Kerala is heating up. The elections are only four months away. The Bharatiya Janata is pulling out all stops to make its presence felt. So much so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state made waves even before he arrived on Tuesday. First, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy created a stir by telling media that he had been asked by Vellappally Natesan, the general secretary of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the organisation of the largest Hindu segment in the state, the Ezhavas, to stay away from a function in Kollam that Modi was to attend.
The proposed Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, a new party formed by SNDP, aiming to bring various Hindu outfits under one platform, with the BJP, had already come under sharp attack by both the Congress and the Left. They pointed out that the alliance would run contrary to Ezhava icon Sree Narayana Guru’s idea of “one religion, one caste, one god for mankind”.
Modi sought to counter the charge at Kollam on Tuesday while unveiling a statue of R Shankar, former chief minister of the state and a towering Ezhava leader, by portraying him as a crusader of Hindu unity that SNDP is attempting now in Kerala. He said Shankar had followed the path shown by Sree Narayana Guru.
Appropriating icons
Modi tried to project Shankar, a freedom fighter and Congress leader, as a Hindutva leader by tracing the efforts made by him along with Nair community leader Mannath Padmanabhan, to establish a “Hindu Mahamandal” besides the close ties he maintained with Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
In his speech at a party meeting at Thrissur on Monday, Modi predicted "achhe din" for his party, which has not won any seat in the state either in the Assembly or Lok Sabha so far. He termed the party's victory in the local body polls in certain pockets in the state as a sufficient indication of the preparedness of the people to experiment with a third front. The SNDP that had an electoral understanding with the BJP in the local body polls hopes to get the leadership of the third front.
The task, however, may not be easy for the third front as the Congress and the Left parties are set to give them a run for their money.
The Congress condemned Modi’s portrayal of Shankar as Hindutva leader in strong terms, calling it a part of the Sangh Parivar strategy to hijack the legacy of top leaders like Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and BR Ambedkar for their political gains.
“Modi’s attempt to establish a Jan Sangh link with Shankar is heinous and deplorable," Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president VM Sudheeran said. "Sankar's life was an open book. The people will dismiss with contempt the attempts to usurp his Congress legacy by misrepresenting facts.”
Shankar’s son Mohan Shankar, who incidentally is an office bearer of the SNDP, termed the attempt a distortion of history. Mohan, who had kept away from the statue unveiling function, said his father was a true Congress man till his death.
He said neither he nor other members of the family were aware of any incident that could establish the prime minister’s version that his father had maintained a close relationship with the Jana Sangh founder. He accused Modi of using the function to posthumously convert his father into a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist.
Mohan said that this could be one of the reasons behind keeping Chief Minister Oommen Chandy away from the function as he would have strongly reacted to this incorrect portrayal. He said it was unfortunate that Natesan, who is aware of the true facts, kept quiet.
Mohan said it is part of a well-planned move by the Sangh Parivar to woo the Ezhavas, who are the largest Hindu community in Kerala. He pointed out that the RSS mouthpiece Janmabhoomi had republished an old article by RSS ideologue P Parameswaran recalling Shankar's visits to the RSS shakha in Kollam in the early days.
The Janmabhoomi reprinted the article on its front page with the title “Shankar a Swayamsevak” prior to the visit of the Prime Minister. Mohan said that his family had decided to boycott the statue unveiling function after seeing the article.
Saffron coating
The Left Democratic Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has been spearheading an agitation against the Congress-led United Democratic Front government over corruption and sleaze issues, has joined hands with the Congress in defeating the Sangh Parivar's plans.
Senior LDF leaders said Modi’s portrayal of Shankar as a Hindtuva leader was not acceptable to them and added that they would oppose the attempt to communally divide the people in the state tooth and nail.
Sheridan Philip, a CPI(M) sympathiser and media commentator, said that the Sangh Parivar's designs, if allowed unchecked, would attempt to paint saffron colours even on Mannath Padmanabhan, the founder of Nair Service Society, whose leadership has been resisting the SNDP attempt to take them on board.
However, the SNDP leadership has sought to woo the ordinary Nairs by harping on minority dominance in the state. Natesan hopes the Nairs will support his efforts.
The Assembly results will prove whether this will become a reality.
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The proposed Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, a new party formed by SNDP, aiming to bring various Hindu outfits under one platform, with the BJP, had already come under sharp attack by both the Congress and the Left. They pointed out that the alliance would run contrary to Ezhava icon Sree Narayana Guru’s idea of “one religion, one caste, one god for mankind”.
Modi sought to counter the charge at Kollam on Tuesday while unveiling a statue of R Shankar, former chief minister of the state and a towering Ezhava leader, by portraying him as a crusader of Hindu unity that SNDP is attempting now in Kerala. He said Shankar had followed the path shown by Sree Narayana Guru.
Appropriating icons
Modi tried to project Shankar, a freedom fighter and Congress leader, as a Hindutva leader by tracing the efforts made by him along with Nair community leader Mannath Padmanabhan, to establish a “Hindu Mahamandal” besides the close ties he maintained with Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
In his speech at a party meeting at Thrissur on Monday, Modi predicted "achhe din" for his party, which has not won any seat in the state either in the Assembly or Lok Sabha so far. He termed the party's victory in the local body polls in certain pockets in the state as a sufficient indication of the preparedness of the people to experiment with a third front. The SNDP that had an electoral understanding with the BJP in the local body polls hopes to get the leadership of the third front.
The task, however, may not be easy for the third front as the Congress and the Left parties are set to give them a run for their money.
The Congress condemned Modi’s portrayal of Shankar as Hindutva leader in strong terms, calling it a part of the Sangh Parivar strategy to hijack the legacy of top leaders like Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and BR Ambedkar for their political gains.
“Modi’s attempt to establish a Jan Sangh link with Shankar is heinous and deplorable," Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president VM Sudheeran said. "Sankar's life was an open book. The people will dismiss with contempt the attempts to usurp his Congress legacy by misrepresenting facts.”
Shankar’s son Mohan Shankar, who incidentally is an office bearer of the SNDP, termed the attempt a distortion of history. Mohan, who had kept away from the statue unveiling function, said his father was a true Congress man till his death.
He said neither he nor other members of the family were aware of any incident that could establish the prime minister’s version that his father had maintained a close relationship with the Jana Sangh founder. He accused Modi of using the function to posthumously convert his father into a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist.
Mohan said that this could be one of the reasons behind keeping Chief Minister Oommen Chandy away from the function as he would have strongly reacted to this incorrect portrayal. He said it was unfortunate that Natesan, who is aware of the true facts, kept quiet.
Mohan said it is part of a well-planned move by the Sangh Parivar to woo the Ezhavas, who are the largest Hindu community in Kerala. He pointed out that the RSS mouthpiece Janmabhoomi had republished an old article by RSS ideologue P Parameswaran recalling Shankar's visits to the RSS shakha in Kollam in the early days.
The Janmabhoomi reprinted the article on its front page with the title “Shankar a Swayamsevak” prior to the visit of the Prime Minister. Mohan said that his family had decided to boycott the statue unveiling function after seeing the article.
Saffron coating
The Left Democratic Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has been spearheading an agitation against the Congress-led United Democratic Front government over corruption and sleaze issues, has joined hands with the Congress in defeating the Sangh Parivar's plans.
Senior LDF leaders said Modi’s portrayal of Shankar as a Hindtuva leader was not acceptable to them and added that they would oppose the attempt to communally divide the people in the state tooth and nail.
Sheridan Philip, a CPI(M) sympathiser and media commentator, said that the Sangh Parivar's designs, if allowed unchecked, would attempt to paint saffron colours even on Mannath Padmanabhan, the founder of Nair Service Society, whose leadership has been resisting the SNDP attempt to take them on board.
However, the SNDP leadership has sought to woo the ordinary Nairs by harping on minority dominance in the state. Natesan hopes the Nairs will support his efforts.
The Assembly results will prove whether this will become a reality.
