Kerala - Kochi

End agitation, says Vellappally

KOCHI: Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) general secretary Vellappally Natesan has called for an end to the ongoing agitation over the Class VII textbook, spearheaded by the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Catholic church, so as to forestall a “communal divide in the State.”

“If the agitation against the textbook is allowed to go on,” Mr. Natesan cautioned, “it would lead to a communal divide between the majority community and the minority communities.” He said the “silly and totally unfair” agitation would lead to consolidation and hardening of opinion of the majority Hindus and thus end up in a communal divide.

He said he could not find anything wrong with the lesson ‘Religion-less Jeevan.’ “The lesson promotes a world view beyond religions,” he told The Hindu. It was perfectly in sync with Sri Narayana Guru’s teachings.

He alleged that the NSS was backing the agitation only because it feared its interests would be hurt if the government went ahead with its move to let the Public Service Commission recruit the staff for Travancore Devaswom Board, which according to him, was the “monopoly institution” of the NSS.

Mr. Natesan felt that the agitation was diverting the government’s and people’s attention from fighting inflation, which was the biggest problem now faced by the people.

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