Will the current controversy rupture the unity move?

Though the leaderships of NSS and SNDP are claiming that the current controversy over the Travancore Devaswom Board corruption issue will not rupture their unity move, it might strain the relations of the two major Hindu communities in the state.

While the NSS has been supporting the Devaswom Minister, Mr K C Venugopal and the government the SNDP leadership has alleged the involvement of the minister in the decision to stay the appointments. The NSS General Secretary, Mr P K Narayana Panicker in a statement said “it is highly deplorable on the part of a few to create a misunderstanding in the TDB appointment issue and cast the Chief Minister and Devaswom Minister in bad light besides terming them anti-Hindu. It is even suspected that the stance is a ploy to cover up the widespread allegations of graft in TDB postings”. Went on to add that it was the moral duty of the Hindu society to support the recent measures initiated by the government to do away with the scope for corruption and anomalies in the functioning if the Board.

Meanwhile, Mr G Sukumaran Nair, Assistant Secreary, NSS said “the moves of the government are highly beneficial to Hindu society”.

Meanwhile, the SNDP General Secretary, Mr Vellapally Natesan claimed that he was in possession of “an evidence to show that Mr Venugopal had taken undue interest in pushing a deal with the New Delhi based Eco-Smart company that was entrusted by the government with preparing a Rs1,000 crore project for development of Sabarimala”. Mr Natesan also said that both the NSS and the SNDP had the same opinion that there should be an end to the corruption in the TDB.

The TDB President, Mr G Raman, a nominee of the NSS described the allegations as baseless and said that the Board’s opposition to the role of Eco Smart in the Sabarimala development project was behind the current fiasco. It is understood that while the NSS is in favour the Eco Smart project the SNDP is against it.

The Malabar Thiyya Samudaya Kshetra Samrakshana Samithy had also asked the SNDP General Secretary to withdraw his allegations against the Minister.

Responses