PNS | Thiruvananthapuram
The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Wednesday made it clear that Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer will neither apologise nor issue a correction regarding his controversial remarks about a Hindu deity, which have stirred up the political waters in the state.
Amidst criticism from various Hindu organisations and political parties, like Congress and the BJP, demanding an apology from Shamseer as well as his resignation from the post of Speaker, the CPI(M) made it abundantly clear that he did no wrong.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan, at a press conference at the party headquarters AKG Centre here, said there was no need for any apology or issuing a correction in connection with the statement by Shamseer.
“There will be no apology or correction. There is no need for it. What Shamseer said is entirely correct,” Govindan said.
The CPI(M) state secretary criticised the Congress stand on the matter, saying it was against the teachings of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who promoted scientific temper in society.
He also claimed that earlier Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor had also shared the same view as Shamseer.
“So, let’s see what V D Satheesan (Congress leader) has to say now,” Govindan said.
Satheesan, who is the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, earlier in the day, said the Speaker’s statement was a weapon for communal forces and it would be better to correct it.He said the Speaker did not exercise the caution and vigilance that a person in a constitutional position ought to have done.
He alleged that while the BJP and the Sangh Parivar tried to take political advantage of Shamseer’s remarks, the CPI(M) too tried to fan the flames of the issue in the same manner as the communal forces.
Meanwhile, a large number of Hindu devotees and members of the influential Nair community organisation, NSS, offered prayers at Lord Ganesha temples during the day across Kerala as a mark of protest against Shamseer’s remarks about the Hindu deity.
At the press conference held in the afternoon, Govindan said the Left party was not against any religion or belief and has always considered all believers and non-believers as part of the same society.
However, it was the ruling BJP at the Centre which was trying to saffronise everything including history, he alleged.
Govindan claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in October 2014, at the inauguration of a hospital in Mumbai, had said that Lord Ganesha’s appearance was a result of plastic surgery.
“Such propaganda is wrong. Myths should be treated as myths, history as history, and science as science. You cannot move forward by rejecting science.
“While everyone is entitled to have their beliefs, even against science, that should not be used as a reason to attack scientific thought. Also, labelling those who question such beliefs as anti-Hindu or anti-believers is wrong propaganda,” he contended.
He said that the Congress in Kerala was presently echoing what the BJP was saying.
On the other hand, Nehru was a materialistic person, and two of his books, including ‘Discovery of India’, were based on materialism, Govindan said.
During an event organised at a school in Ernakulam district recently, Shamseer allegedly accused the Centre of trying to teach children Hindu myths instead of accomplishments in science and technology.
The BJP and right-wing outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have already launched a campaign against Shamseer, saying they are aggrieved over the Speaker’s comments regarding Lord Ganesha and the mythical ‘pushpaka vimanam’.
The ruling CPI(M) had on Saturday strongly condemned the campaign by the Sangh Parivar against Shamseer over his reported controversial remarks.
Misinterpreting myths and beliefs and portraying them as scientific thoughts would only lead to the backtracking of the progress of society and checking the development of science, the CPI(M) had said in a statement here.
