“NSS is not RSS,” said Jaick C Thomas, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate in the upcoming Puthuppally bye-election in Kerala, heaping praise on the Nair Service Society (NSS), an outfit formed for welfare of people belonging to Nair caste. He made the statement to the media on Monday, August 14, after visiting the organisation’s general secretary Sukumaran Nair at the headquarters in Perunna and seeking electoral support. “NSS is a community organisation that took a strong stand against communal politics,” Jaick told the media later, adding that any organisation with such a “secular” bearing has no reason to disagree with Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF).
But barely two weeks ago, the NSS had strongly “disagreed” with the Left Democratic Front, and had taken out a ‘naamajapa’ (prayer) rally demanding the resignation of Assembly Speaker and CPI(M) leader AN Shamseer. What triggered the NSS was a remark made by Shamseer at a public event, that “myths were being taught as science” to schoolchildren — citing as an example the claim by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that plastic surgery was invented in India, and that the Hindu deity Ganapathy got his elephant head through such a procedure. The rightwing came down heavily on Shamseer for “calling Ganapathy a myth”, even filing a police complaint against the Speaker, while a seemingly furious Sukumaran Nair stated in no mean terms that “faith was indeed more important than science.”
Senior CPI(M) leaders responded by accusing Sukumaran Nair of “toeing the communal line,” and the Kerala police registered cases against over 1,000 identifiable NSS members, alleging that they did not obtain permission before its naamajapa rally. CPI(M) leader and former minister AK Balan also accused the NSS of illegally holding on to a temple property in Palakkad, to which Sukumaran Nair responded with a jibe that Balan had become too “insignificant” to warrant a response. The NSS, meanwhile, has been adamant that it would not withdraw its protest until and unless Shamseer issues an apology – a demand that CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan declined outright.
With the Puthuppally bye-election nearing, however, it would seem the CPI(M) has decided it doesn’t want to antagonise the NSS — as has been apparent in Jaick’s visit to the NSS headquarters alongside Minister VN Vasavan and the subsequent expression of adulation for the NSS.
The NSS too seems to be willing to meet the CPI(M) halfway, at least for the Puthuppally election. After Jaick’s visit to Perunna, just a few days after Congress candidate Chandy Oommen visited the headquarters, Sukumaran Nair told the media that the NSS would remain “equidistant” from all political parties for the Puthuppally bye-poll, as has been the outfit’s usual stand. He also stated that the organisation wasn’t planning to rake up the ‘myth’ issue in Puthuppally.
CPI(M)’s MV Govindan, however, responded that while he appreciated the NSS’s equidistant policy, he did not entirely trust it, as the NSS’s equidistant stand hasn’t always been equidistant. The caste outfit, indeed, has time and again publicly taken negative stands against the CPI(M), having frequently come out with criticisms against the party in several past elections. Just a few weeks ago, Sukumaran Nair had notably said in an interview with TNIE that he had been “an RSS man for 18 years.” He said he made the shift to NSS because he thought this was a better organisation for Nairs to take pride in their caste, when compared to RSS where he was only seen as a Hindu.
But if that was the CPI(M)’s stand, why then did Jaick approach the NSS camp seeking votes? Justifying the move, Govindan said the party’s candidate had every right to approach any voter or community leader as part of their election campaign. “Also, the CPI(M) hasn’t placed anyone in its enemy camp. We disagree or criticise organisations and ideologies as per the party policy,” he said. He added that while the CPI(M) is a progressive institution, ‘non-progressives’ too vote in elections, and candidates have the right to seek votes from them as well.
Contrary to Govindan’s seemingly cautious stance, however, the LDF government has been showing willingness to go a step further to appease the caste-based outfit, by seeking to settle the case against NSS members over the naamajapa rally. As the case has now reached the trial stage, it is not legally viable to withdraw it anymore. But reports said police may withdraw from taking any further action in the case, stating that though the rally was conducted without permission, the protesters had “no ulterior motives” while doing so.
Sukumaran Nair, however, has said that whether the case against them is withdrawn or not, the organisation would not back down on the matter until the Speaker issues an apology.
Meanwhile, with the CPI(M)’s sudden change in attitude towards the NSS, Congress has found ammunition to taunt the Communist party for its “electoral games.” “When we [the Congress] called NSS a secular organisation, the CPI(M) called us communal. If they are withdrawing the case against NSS now, it is a good thing. They are realising their mistake. But they should stand by their praise for the NSS even after September 5 (when the Puthuppally bye-poll is scheduled),” Congress Member of Parliament K Muraleedharan told media persons on Wednesday.