CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Friday said the contention of the SNDP Union leadership that only a member of a particular caste could assume the mantle of Vice-Chancellorship of the Sree Narayana Guru Open University was a misplaced thought.
No particular religion or caste could claim to have obtained the exclusive patent for the legacy of the social reformer. The guru’s teachings and bequest to society were enduring and universal.
Those who claim to practice the values propounded by the seer should not view matters through the narrow, restrictive and resentful prism of caste. They should not forget that the guru had battled for a casteless and secular society.
Mr Balakrishnan was reacting to the report that SNDP union general secretary Vellapally Natesan had slammed the government for not appointing a member from the ‘Sree Narayana community’ to the post of the Vice-Chancellor.
Mr Natesan had singled out Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel for choosing a non-resident Keralite from Malabar as the head of the university. Mr Natesan had accused the government of stabbing the ‘Sree Narayana devotees’ in the eye and sacrificing their welfare to appease some vested interests.
He said the government, at the instance of Mr Jaleel, had passed over several qualified candidates with Left-liberal leanings from the ‘Sree Narayana community’ for the Vice-Chancellor’s post.
Mr Natesan’s abrupt change of tack and his attempt cast Mr Jaleel as a growing liability for the ruling front in the election year appeared to have caught the LDF by surprise.
Mr Natesan had backed the government during the Sabarimala agitation. He had headed the State-sponsored Navodhana Samrakshana Samiti (Renaissance Protection Samiti), which was widely seen as a counter to a perceived right-wing drift in society. His grouse about the appointment has reportedly become a talking point in the LDF.
