Political manoeuvre behind unity bid, says Sukumaran Nair

The proposed unity move between community organisations NSS and SNDP Yogam proved short-lived, with the former announcing its withdrawal from the initiative on Monday.

Reacting to the development, SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan said he would have to go through the NSS statement and declined to comment further.

The NSS represents the forward Nair community, while the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam is an organisation of the numerically strong Ezhava community.

Earlier this month, Natesan and NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair had separately spoken to media about the possibility of unity between the two organisations after both had criticised Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan.

Nair told reporters that the organisation decided to withdraw from the proposed unity move with the SNDP Yogam after suspecting political motives behind the initiative.

The statement said such unity was impractical, especially since the NSS maintains an equal distance from all political parties.

He said Natesan proposed sending his son, Tushar Vellapally, who is associated with the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an NDA ally, to discuss the unity with him.

"Their approach towards this unity move was suspicious," Nair said.

Nair said he was the one who placed the proposal to withdraw from the unity move before the NSS director board, which later endorsed the decision.