Ever since the Sivagiri Mutt in Kerala invited Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest of the Sree Narayana Dharma Meemamsa Parishad, Kerala politics has taken a new direction.
Religious sentiments are simmering God's own country Kerala. The Episcopal churches and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam of the backward Ezhava community in the state are crying foul, claiming that the new generation Pentecostal churches are poaching their believers.
Thushar is the son of Vellappally Natesan, who is the general secretary of the influential Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, which works for the welfare of Ezhava community, a backward caste with sizeable population in the state.
Sukumaran Nair said he had noted Natesan's remarks and that a decision would be taken after a meeting scheduled for January 21.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday amid protests by Opposition members, over the issue of Kerala CM Chandy being reportedly asked not to attend a function.
Kerala CM wrote to EAM S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the matter.
'The Kerala of today is not the Kerala of yesterday.' 'What has seeped into this society is the feeling of hatred towards other castes and religions.'
Children sitting together, and hugging each other is not desirable in India and it is dangerous, Vellappally Natesan said.
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy said the decision to exclude him from the function of unveiling of former CM R Sankar's statue at Kollam by PM Modi was a "painful experience".
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said it was a 'needless' controversy and the decision on the invite was taken by Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, an organisation of Ezhava community which was organising the event.
Ruling Congress-led UDF in Kerala on Saturday suffered a setback in the civic elections, billed as the semifinal ahead of next year's assembly polls, as CPI-M-led LDF won a majority of local bodies while the BJP made inroads improving its performance.
In a potential political setback for Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam chief Vellapally Natesan, the Kerala government on Saturday announced further investigation into the death of Swami Saswathikananda of Sivagiri Mutt, following a Crime Branch report citing new revelations in the case.
Hoping to make its mark in Kerala, the BJP sewed up an alliance with the BDJS, the new party formed by SNDP, a powerful organisation of the backward Ezhava community.
With Parliament rocked by constant disruptions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the Congress, accusing it of making a "mockery of democracy" and deciding to "destroy" the country as it cannot reconcile to the Lok Sabha poll defeat.
She said there were attempts to communalise the guru's teachings and this amounts to 'betraying' him.
On Easter, April 9, 10,000 BJP workers are being assigned to visit the houses of 100,000 Christian families. Plans are afoot to visit the homes of Muslims on Eid.
'Kerala will witness a lot of fireworks in Wayanad and a kind of fight that it has not witnessed so far.'
For most affluent families in Kerala, marriage is reduced to an occasion to flaunt their wealth. Now, the Women's Commission in the state wants marriage expenses to be capped at Rs 6 lakh.
A total of 1,203 candidates, including 109 women, are contesting for the 140 assembly seats in which a total of 2.61 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
The BJP scripted history by opening its account in the state assembly.
'The appointment of 60 priests from the Dalit community is a historic moment.' 'Imagine this is happening in Kerala when Dalits are not even allowed to enter temples in some states even today.'
The last leg of poll campaign saw many national leaders canvassing for their parties.
'It is our aim to capture power and rule in Kerala. We may not be able to achieve our target in one attempt.' 'By just hammering once, you will not be able to break a rock; you need to hammer the rock several times.'
'Slightly more than 50 per cent of all Keralites are Hindus. If we can unite as many as we can, we can create a huge difference in the political scene in Kerala.'
The saffron party will use Lord Ayyappa the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north to take away the Nair vote and make electoral inroads in the state.
'The cadres who die for the party are from the backward and scheduled caste communities while the leaders and those who enjoy power are from the forward community.' 'When this is the reality, who will stay with them?'
'Why do they talk about Narendra Modi insulting Oommen Chandy when he himself informed the PMO that he would not be available? Why did he write to Delhi that he was preoccupied on the 15th? After that, he should not make such noise about the function.'
'Unlike in other states, minorities form a significant number in Kerala. They have money and political power. In such a society, the emergence of a new communal power is not a healthy thing.'
'It is wrong to assume that it is only after 1991 that we started following this ritual.' 'Ayyappan himself instructed where the temple had to be built, the rituals that had to followed and the route that had to be taken by devotees to the temple.'
'The BJP can kill two birds with one stone by wresting back control of the message; and the steps are fairly obvious. Once the media is neutral, there is a level playing field,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
Why does this Kerala district see so many political murders and revenge killings?
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