NSS not to back Karunakaran

By George Jacob

KOTTAYAM, AUG. 25. The efforts of the senior Congress(I) leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, and his loyalists to precipitate another bout of factional war in the party, appear to have received a lukewarm reception from the leader's longtime ally, the Nair Service Society.

NSS sources close to the leadership made it clear that "if Mr. Karunakaran and those with him expect any support from the NSS in their newest adventure, they are grossly mistaken".

This unexpected turn around in the relationship between the `leader' and the NSS is based on the latter's assumption that the sole aim of Mr. Karunakaran's rebellion is announcing his son as his successor. "We firmly believe that Mr. Karunakaran is sacrificing the future of scores of other youngsters, whether they belong to the Nair community or not," said one senior leader.

According to him, as far as the NSS is concerned, there is only one Congress party. "Even if you want us to recognise the two factions, we would like to keep equal distance from them," he added. The general impression among the leaders is that Mr. Karunakaran's present efforts would only ruin "whatever is left of that party".

The sources said that there had so far been no feelers from the Karunakaran camp seeking support. "However, such an impression has been created and that is why we want to clarify our position," he said.

The NSS, through its political arm, the National Democratic Party (NDP), had been one of Mr. Karunakaran's staunchest allies ever since the formation of the United Democratic Front. While the NSS had kept itself away from the factional war within the Congress(I), Mr. Karunakaran could always have found a helping hand in the NSS all these years. Even during the worst crisis in Mr. Karunakaran's political career, at the end of which he had to make an ignominious exit as Chief Minister in the mid-Nineties, the NSS had put in a strong case for him, criticising the coalition partners for their political immaturity in involving in the internal matters of the Congress(I).

The soured relationship with the new leaders in the Congress(I) and also with some of the coalition partners had resulted in the voluntary exit of the NDP from the coalition with a call to defeat its former allies in the 1995 Assembly polls. The outcome of the 1995 polls proved the NSS leadership correct and it was after that they came out with the policy of `equi-distance' from both the major political formations in the State. Even then, the NSS had maintained a cozy relationship with Mr. Karunakaran. It was none other than the `leader' who was selected by the NSS to unveil a statue of its founding father, Mannathu Padmanabhan, at Vaikom last year. This in fact was a great boost to the sagging image of Mr. Karunakaran, who could prove that his relationship with his base constituency was still intact.

One reason for the sudden change in the attitude of the NSS might be that it wanted to make it clear to the `leader' that it is not so much impressed by the performance of Mr. K. Muraleedharan and that it will not tolerate any attempt to impose him on the NSS. In other words, the NSS would like to choose its own spokesman for them in the Congress(I). Another reason might be that, sure of its influence over the Karunakaran camp and the effects of its stance over the future of the present rebellion, it wanted to exert pressure on the emerging scenario in the Congress(I).

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Section  : Southern States
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