Kottayam (Kerala), Jan 26 (PTI) The proposed unity move between community organisations NSS and SNDP Yogam proved short-lived, with the former on Monday announcing its withdrawal from the initiative.
The Nair Service Society (NSS) said the decision was taken at a meeting of its director board held at Perunna.
The statement was signed by NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair, a release said.
“Due to various reasons, earlier attempts at NSS–SNDP Yogam unity did not succeed. A similar move, considering the present political situation, is also unlikely to succeed,” it said.
The NSS represents the forward Nair community, while the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam is an organisation of the numerically strong Ezhava community.
The statement said such unity was impractical, especially since the NSS maintains an equal distance from all political parties.
The NSS said it would continue to maintain friendly relations with the SNDP Yogam, as it does with other community organisations.
“The board has decided that while cordial relations will continue, a formal unity move is not feasible at this time,” the release said.
Reacting to the development, SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan said he would have to go through the NSS statement and declined to comment further.
Earlier this month, Natesan and Nair had separately publicly spoken to media about the possibility of unity between the two organisations after both had criticised Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan.
Meanwhile, Natesan was on Sunday declared as a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award.
Nair told reporters that the organisation decided to withdraw from the proposed unity move with the SNDP Yogam after suspecting political motives behind the initiative.
He said Natesan proposed sending his son, Tushar Vellapally, who is associated with the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an NDA ally, to discuss the unity with him.
“Their approach towards this unity move was suspicious,” Nair said.
Nair said he was the one who placed the proposal to withdraw from the unity move before the NSS director board, which later endorsed the decision.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders decided to keep a distance regarding the matter.
Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said the Congress wanted all communities to remain united, but decisions on unity or otherwise had to be taken by the organisations concerned.
“Congress does not intervene in the internal matters of community organisations. Likewise, we do not allow others to intervene in our matters,” Satheesan said.
He also congratulated SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan for being honoured with the Padma Bhushan award.
“He represents a great organisation. I congratulate everyone who has received Padma awards,” he said, adding that he had no allegation that the award was linked to political connections.
UDF convener Adoor Prakash said the Congress wanted to move forward along with all community organisations.
“Our aim is to take everyone together and we will continue with that policy,’ he said, adding that the UDF would attempt to bring both the NSS and the SNDP together.
Asked whether the NSS had softened its stand towards the UDF, Prakash said they had not held any meetings with community leaders.
“NSS and SNDP are organisations that clearly understand the thinking of the people of Kerala,” he said.
PTI TBA SA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.