In spite of the policy of equidistance followed by the Nair Service Society (NSS), the Mannam Jayanthi and NSS centenary celebrations were virtually taken over by the “white shirt brigade” on Tuesday.
All eyes were on Ramesh Chennithala, whose visit added importance this time. Mr Chennithala, who arrived early visited general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair and offered floral tributes at the Mannam Samadhi. He then waited at the nearby NSS Guesthouse.
Though the induction of Mr. Chennithala into the Cabinet is widely seen as a triumph of the strong stance taken by the NSS and its secretary, the public expression of his reception was formal and subdued. The new Home Minister was not asked to grace the dais, though senior NSS leader R. Balakrishna Pillai shared the space with the guests of honour at the podium.
In the welcome speech too, the only name that came up from the “VIP audience” was that of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurian. Another face eagerly looked for by the media was that of Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
Though Mr. Chennithala and Mr. Radhakrishnan were among the audience, their names were never mentioned by the general secretary in the welcome address. Neither did he accompanied them to the Samadhi.
In fact, it was the guest of honour Cardinal George Alencherry who said he was using the liberty he had with the general secretary and extended a formal welcome to Mr. Chennithala. He also lauded Mr. Radhakrishnan for the well-mannered way he had conducted himself during the Cabinet reshuffle in which he lost his portfolio.
BeehiveThe NSS guesthouse was a beehive of political activities with senior leaders, including K.C. Joseph, Mr. Radhakrishnan, Mr. Chennithala, Mr. Pillai, and others, huddled together to sort out the remaining irritants following the Cabinet reshuffle such as the dissent of the Kerala Congress(B).
In a sea of UDF politicians, there were islands of Left, like that of former Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran.
Others who were present included Union Ministers Kodikkunil Suresh and K.C. Venugopal; Jose K. Mani, Anto Antony, and Peethambara Kurup, MPs; V.S. Sivakumar, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, K.C. Joseph and Shibu Baby John, Ministers; and P.C. Vishnunath, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, K Muraleedharan and Varkala Kahar, MLAs.
