Sivagiri Madhom said on Friday that the controversial remarks made by Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer had hurt the sentiments of the faithful and urged him to tender an unqualified apology in this regard.
There was nothing wrong with urging the development of scientific temper while addressing students, but the remarks made by the Speaker on Lord Ganesha and ritual practices during a recent function were problematic, the Madhom said.
The Speaker should have dealt with the matter carefully, Sachchidananda Swamy, president of Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, which manages the Madhom, said here.
On NSS demonstrations
Virtually extending support to the recent protest demonstrations organised by the Nair Service Society (NSS), an outfit of the Nair community, against Mr. Shamseer, he said no one can blame them as the remarks might have hurt their sentiments.
The seer said the Speaker might not have made the controversial remarks deliberately, but he should not have hurt the sentiments of the faithful. “If it has hurt the faithful, Shamseer should tender an unqualified apology. It is part of our social life,” he said, addressing a press conference here.
When asked about the Madhom’s stand on the Nair Service Society’s (NSS) protest in the issue, he said just like the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], the ruling party, adheres to its philosophy, the faithful too have their own beliefs, and they came out in protest when hurt by words (by the Speaker).
The seer, however, did not give a clear answer when asked whether the Madhom would join hands with those protesting, demanding that the Speaker withdraw his remarks.
‘Independent approach’
He said the Sivagiri Madhom had an independent approach purely based on Sree Narayana Guru’s teachings. He also declined to comment on the cases registered against the NSS and the BJP activists by the police over the protests. The Madhom urged everyone not to aggravate the issue and expressed hope that it would be settled soon.
During an event organised at a school in Ernakulam recently, Mr. Shamseer had allegedly accused the Centre of trying to teach children Hindu myths instead of accomplishments in science and technology. The BJP and right wing outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have already launched a campaign against Mr. Shamseer, saying they are aggrieved over the Speaker’s comments regarding Lord Ganesha and the mythical ‘pushpaka vimanam’.
The ruling CPI(M) had strongly condemned the campaign by the Sangh Parivar against Mr. Shamseer over his reported controversial remarks.
Misinterpreting myths and beliefs and portraying them as scientific thoughts would only lead to the backtracking of the progress of society and checking the development of science, the CPI(M) had earlier said in a statement.
