Congress, CPI-M flay Natesan on new party

A day after Hindu Ezhava leader V. Natesan launched his political party in Kerala, the ruling Congress and the opposition CPI-M on Sunday criticised him for allegedly promoting the cause of the BJP and RSS.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy termed the new party - Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) - as the "B team of the BJP".

"It's going to be a recruiting agency of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and nothing beyond that. The ideology of Sri Narayana Guru has been ignored by him," Chandy told reporters in Kochi.

State Congress president V.M. Sudheeran said Natesan was "promoting the teachings of (Nathuram) Godse".

"What I oppose is his new-found love for the politics of the RSS and Sangh Parivar. He should now stop saying anything about Sri Narayana Guru's teachings and ideology because he is now promoting the teachings of (Nathuram) Godse," Sudheeran said at a party function here.

Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Prakash Karat said in Kozhikode on Sunday that the new party was a "ploy of the BJP and RSS" and it would not have any political impact in the southern state.

Former defence minister and Congress leader A.K. Antony told reporters in Delhi that the new party would not make any impact.

Natesan heads Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a charitable society formed more than a century ago under the guidance of spiritual leader Sri Narayana Guru.

Ezhavas comprise a majority of the over 50 percent Hindus in Kerala.