Thiruvananthapuram: SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan on January 18 reiterated that unity among Hindu community organisations is “the need of the hour,” asserting that the coming together of the SNDP Yogam and the Nair Service Society (NSS) is not only inevitable but also reflects the will of the people. He said society has reached a stage where such unity is being welcomed “with both hands,” and declared that it was now the mission of the SNDP to take the initiative in this direction. “The unity of Hindu communities is the need of the hour. The unity of SNDP and NSS is the justice of the hour. The people want unity. If NSS and SNDP unite, will there be a tsunami in this state? Those who have to unite will unite. It has reached a point where society is accepting it wholeheartedly. That is our mission,” Vellappally said while addressing reporters. He added that the SNDP Yogam leadership meeting scheduled to be held in Alappuzha on the 21st would take further decisions on the matter. “The leadership meeting will be convened in Alappuzha on the 21st. More details related to this will be decided in that meeting,” he said, indicating that organisational steps toward unity would soon follow.
Vellappally blamed the Muslim League leadership for what he described as the confusion and friction between the NSS and SNDP in the past. “The main reason for the NSS and SNDP being confused is the Muslim League leadership. The League did all this by saying that we should not unite. After coming to power, no consideration was given to us. Where did we come from after experiencing all this neglect?” he asked. He said the issue had now gone beyond the unity of the majority community alone. “Today, it is not only the unity of the majority community. Things have reached a point where the unity of those from Nayadi to Nasrani (Dalits to Christians) is essential,” he said, using the phrase to underline a broader social consolidation cutting across caste and denominational lines.
At the same time, Vellappally insisted that he was not anti-Muslim. “I am not anti-Muslim. I have never said a single word against the Muslim community,” he said, clarifying that his criticism was directed at the political conduct of the Muslim League and not at the community as such. Referring to the controversy surrounding his recent speech in Malappuram district, Vellappally said that his words had been deliberately distorted and portrayed as communal. “My speech in Malappuram was distorted and made into a communal one. I opposed the communal nature of the Muslim League. The policy is to label me as a communalist and beat me to death by turning a goat into a dog,” he said, using a Malayalam idiom to describe what he claimed was a smear campaign against him. He also launched a scathing personal attack on Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan, mocking him as a “piece of tin that was blown up yesterday.” “Even if this gentleman’s father thinks so, he cannot break us. Satheesan is trying to get into the good books of the Muslim League,” Vellappally said. “They are making us communalists by keeping the real communalists with them. I am not the reason why the Congress has lost relevance in Kerala,” he said, adding that the Congress had become a party that “jumps around according to what the League says.”
BJP’s Thiruvananthapuram win reflects rising public confidence: Sukumaran Nair
Meanwhile, NSS General Secretary G. Sukumaran Nair also publicly endorsed the need for SNDP–NSS unity and strongly criticised Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan. Sukumaran Nair was speaking to the media at the NSS headquarters in Perunna in connection with Vellappally Natesan’s statement that unity between the two organisations was essential. Sukumaran Nair said the BJP’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the recent local body elections was the result of growing public trust in the party. “The BJP’s victory in Thiruvananthapuram in the local body elections is the result of the people’s trust in the BJP,” he said, linking the electoral shift to changing political sentiments among communities.
Referring to Vellappally’s earlier statement that if the Congress came to power, the Muslim League would effectively take over the government, Sukumaran Nair said it was in this context that the NSS and SNDP had decided to join hands. “What is wrong in the NSS and SNDP organisations uniting?” he asked. He also said that the Congress did not have any suitable candidates for the post of Chief Minister. “There are no suitable candidates for the post of Chief Minister in the Congress,” he said, adding that Congress leaders had “let Satheesan loose” to make reckless political statements. Sukumaran Nair said Satheesan had gone too far in his remarks against community organisations. He went on to question Satheesan’s authority within the Congress. “What authority does Satheesan have to decide policy issues? Doesn’t the Congress have a president? Is the KPCC president a noob? Why is Satheesan responding to everything?” he asked.
“If Satheesan is let go like this, the Congress will get a beating in the elections,” Sukumaran Nair warned. Clarifying the NSS position on unity, Sukumaran Nair said Vellappally Natesan’s stance that SNDP–NSS unity was the need of the hour was correct. “NSS wants unity. I feel that unity is needed organisationally,” he said. However, he distanced himself from the SNDP on the reservation issue. “That is not an issue today,” he said, adding that unity should not come at the cost of core values. “I want unity in a way that does not compromise our basic values.”
Sukumaran Nair said he was willing to forgive past disagreements with Vellappally. “Vellappally has said many things to me. But we have forgiven everything. He is sitting on the chair of a great movement. We should forgive him. I am not saying that he did not do anything wrong. We have no parliamentary ambitions. We are coming together for nothing to fight,” he said.
