UDF govt 'favouring' one community, alleges Natesan

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan today alleged that the UDF government in awarding compensation was "favouring" only a particular community, drawing sharp reaction from the ruling party.
In his controversial remark, Natesan was referring to the compensation awarded by the government to the family of one Noushad, who died last week after inhaling poisonous gas inside a manhole while trying to save two labourers from the pit in Kozhikode.
He is also leading 'Samathwa Munnetta Yatra' by assembling Hindu caste outfits in Kerala under one umbrella.
"What happened to the three children who died in an accident? Condition of two children is very serious. What is given (to their kin)?...No one went to their residences offering any help... To console the family members.

He was referring to the death of three members of a school handball team in Malappuram district last week. They belong to a different community.
"Rs 10 lakh is given as compensation, besides offering a government job (for victim's wife). Is it true saying that no religion and caste in Kerala," Natesan alleged, addressing a meeting as his 'Yatra' reached near Aluva.

Noushad, an autorickshaw driver, had sacrificed his life to save the lives of two migrant labourers.
Meanwhile, KPCC Chief Sudheeran likened Natesan to VHP leader Pravin Togadia.
"He is speaking and acting according to the screenplay written by RSS intellectuals. He has become a puppet in the hands of RSS. He is following the style of Pravin Togadia, who is known for spitting venomous statements," Sudheeran said in Thiruvananthapuram referring to 'communal' statements by the SNDP yogam general secretary during his yatra.

Natesan, leader of the numerically-strong backward Hindu Ezhava community embarked on his highly-publicised 'Yatra' last week, stating that it was not against any community.
The yatra, aimed at finding a space in the bi-polar polity of Kerala, has already unnerved both the ruling Congress-led UDF and the opposition CPI(M)-headed LDF.
Both fronts had been hitting out at Natesan since he warmed up to the saffron party and had met BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi to discuss the chances of a tie-up before the civic polls early this month.
Natesan has given hints he would launch a political party when the 'yatra', aimed at uniting members from the Nayadi to Namboothiri communities and to strike a better deal for the majority community in Kerala, will reach Thiruvanathapuram, the state capital, on December 5.

However, the Nair Service Society, an organisation of the upper-class Hindu community, has distanced itself from SNDP's overtures for unity of the majority communities.