CPI(M) trying to ingratiate itself with NSS smelling defeat in LS polls: Chennithala

February 21, 2019 03:34 pm | Updated 03:38 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. File

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. File

Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said the State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, was attempting to ingratiate himself with the leadership of the Nair Service Society (NSS) because he smelled defeat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Chennithala’s observation came soon after NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair, on Thursday rejected Mr. Balakrishnan’s repeated offers to go to the social organisation’s headquarters in Perunna for talks. Mr. Nair said the NSS would not parley with any entity on matters of faith and had not assigned any person to do so.

“The NSS stance on Sabarimala is set in stone. It will remain unchanged regardless of the outcome of the ongoing litigations for and against the entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 to the temple,” said Mr. Nair.

The NSS has been consistently against the entry of women of reproductive age to the hill shrine, maintaining that it was a trespass against the ancient customs of Sabarimala that has distressed lakhs of believers.

Mr. Balakrishnan told reporters in Pathanamthitta on the sidelines of the Kerala Samrakshana Yatra that the CPI(M) had no enmity with the NSS. However, the NSS leadership should not interpret the party’s willingness to discuss outstanding issues as a weakness, he said. If the NSS took a political stand against the Left Democratic Front (LDF), it would have no impact on the electorate, he added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.