Kollam, Jan 2 (IANS) The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam’s mouthpiece Yoganaadam on Friday launched a sharp critique of the controversy triggered over Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan offering a ride to Prajapalana Yogam’s general secretary Vellappally Natesan in his official car, describing the backlash as a disturbing reminder of entrenched social discrimination.

Natesan is the general secretary of the powerful Hindu Ezhava social group and has now come under attack from not just the Congress, but the CPI, the second biggest ally in the ruling Left.

In a strongly-worded editorial, the magazine argues that the debate surrounding the Chief Minister’s action exposes the “distorted and ugly face of untouchability” that continues to survive in Kerala society, even 78 years after Independence.

The ridicule and disparaging commentary that followed the incident, it says, reflect an inability to accept the social recognition accorded to leaders from backward communities.

Yoganaadam has also trained its guns on the Communist Party of India (CPI), stating that the Ezhava and other backward communities constitute the backbone of both the CPI(M) and the CPI, but that this historical reality appears to have been forgotten by the CPI’s present leadership.

The magazine contends that had the person travelling in the Chief Minister’s car belonged to an upper caste or a minority community, the issue would not have snowballed into a controversy.

The editorial further alleges that there is a deliberate attempt to portray the act of giving Vellappally Natesan a lift as something akin to a grave offence, even “treasonous” in nature.

According to the magazine, the criticism stems solely from the fact that a backward community leader was involved, revealing deep-seated social bias.

The Muslim League, too, comes in for criticism, with Yoganaadam accusing the party of nurturing ambitions of capturing power by positioning the UDF at the forefront and pushing what it terms “religious governance,” encouraged by recent local body election results.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday reiterated that there was nothing improper in his action.

While reports indicate that sections of the CPI leadership are unhappy, the dissatisfaction is said to be over the Chief Minister’s public response rather than the act itself, and is unlikely to be aired openly.

CPI(M) leaders have meanwhile maintained that the Chief Minister’s decision was a personal matter.

–IANS

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