In an apparent attempt to douse the flare-up over the reported remarks of G. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary in-charge, Nair Service Society (NSS), against Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and the organisation's political stance during the Assembly elections, NSS general secretary P.K. Narayana Panicker, who is on medical leave, directly intervened in the issue on Thursday.
In a statement issued, Mr. Panicker said Mr. Achuthanandan had sought the help of the organisation during the 2001 and the 2006 elections through intermediaries. Mr. Achuthanandan should ask his own conscience if he had benefited from the policy of equidistance followed by the NSS during the elections. Mr. Nair, whom the Chief Minister had dubbed corrupt, was not branded a dependent of anyone in those times.
Cautioning against breaching the limit of decency, he asked the Chief Minister to reflect if he could act decently after profiting from the policy of equidistance.
He said neither he nor Mr. Nair had the inclination to gain personal publicity by divulging such issues. “And we still keep the decency not to cast aspersions on those who stand firm in their resolve,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a separate press note, Mr. Sukumaran Nair asked the members of the community to keep their calm, and said the violence against NSS institutions were only isolated and should be considered actions by anti-social elements. The remarks were against the style of functioning of the Chief Minister and should not be politicised as a stance against the Left.
He criticised the alleged move to drive a wedge into the unity of the NSS leadership, and denounced the remark that there were two types of leaders in the NSS and Mr. Nair was among those who protected the corrupt. “It only shows the style of the Chief Minister,” Mr. Nair said and added that he would like to close the controversy at this point.
