Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has assured the Nair Service Society (NSS) that his government would not neglect any of the complaints and suggestions made by it with regard to the education sector.
Inaugurating the 138th Mannam Jayanthy celebrations at Perunna on Friday, Mr. Chandy also said that in spite of opposition from certain quarters, the government was moving ahead with the constitution of a Devaswom Recruitment Board.
Mr. Chandy’s assurance comes in the wake of the criticism by NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair regarding the education policies followed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) government and its failure to constitute the Devasom Recruitment Board.
The Chief Minister said his government had always taken a sympathetic attitude to the demands of the NSS. It had declared the Mannam Jayanthy day as a holiday. His government was instrumental in the formation of the Kerala State Welfare Corporation for the Forward Communities and implemented schemes intended for the economically backward among the forward communities. The government has also constituted the Kerala State Forward Classes Commission, a permanent commission to identify the problems of economically backward persons from forward communities, he pointed out.
“However, there are certain outstanding complaints and suggestions. The government would take a sympathetic attitude towards them,” he said.
The Chief Minister recalled the role played by Mannathu Padmanabhan in the State’s renaissance and said the institution that he founded had played an important role in shaping the destiny of modern Kerala. He had founded the NSS with the propose of bringing unity among the members of the community, bringing an end to the evil practices that prevailed in the community, educate them and bring them up as an economic force.
“While he worked towards the modernisation of his community, he never kept other communities away from such efforts,” Mr. Chandy said pointing out that this approach had contributed to the NSS’s emergence as a voice for society as a whole. However, the greatest contribution of the NSS was its role in reinforcing the secular fabric of Kerala society,” Mr. Chandy said.
K. Radhakrishnan, former chairman of ISRO inaugurated the valedictory of the centenary celebrations of NSS.
NSS president P.N. Narendranathan Nair chaired the session. Aswathy Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi, actor Mohanlal, BJP leader P.S. Sreedharan Pialli and others spoke.
