Thiruvananthapuram, Wednesday 4 April 2011: CPM on Wednesday lashed out at the Nair Service Society (NSS) for its “unsavoury” comments directed at Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.

“The words and expressions used by the Society’s Secretary against Achuthanandan were quite unbecoming of Kerala culture and its tradition of healthy debate,” state Home Minister and CPM politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.

“They should introspect whether such abusive expressions could be used against a highly respected leader like Achuthanandan,” Kodiyeri told reporters here. NSS Secretary G Sukumaran Nair had yesterday said that during the Kerala Assembly polls last month the Society had deviated from their policy of being neutral only to prevent Achuthanandan from becoming Chief Minister once again.

He attacked Achuthanandan by saying that he was a leader who did not believe in democracy and often defied his own party to carry on with his autocratic ways. The NSS has a network of units across the state and comprises Nairs, who form a major caste of the Hindu fold in Kerala.

Nair said the NSS had conveyed through some of the LDF leaders that NSS was not opposed to the LDF as such but had decided to change the “equi-distance” policy to stop Achuthanandan from becoming the Chief Minister again.

Reacting to the statement, Balakrishnan said that the LDF knew “very well” that the NSS’ claim of keeping equi-distance from the two coalitions was just a ploy to mislead people. Meanwhile, an NSS unit office was stoned at Muhammad in Alappuzha district late yesterday. Doors and glass windows of the building were damaged in the attack by unidentified persons.

(PTI)