Kerala CM’s comment on freedom fighter flayed

Rude remarks by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against a freedom fighter have angered his family members and the opposition alike.The Congress party has demanded Vijayan withdraw his comments against P S Nataraja Pillai, who was the finance minister of the Travancore-Cochin state formed after independence and which existed till the constitution of linguistic states.Vijayan had recently said he could not take over 11.46 acres of land as desired by the family of “some Pillai”.The land now in possession of Kerala Law Academy Law College has a history that can be traced back to freedom fighter P S Nataraja Pillai and his scholar father Manonmaniam P Sundaram Pillai.Prof Sundaram Pillai, who taught at the Maharajah’s College here, was known as Manonmaniam Sundaranar after his play in Tamil and the M S University of Thirunelveli carries his name. He owned 11.49 acres of land which was transferred to his son after his death aged 42 and later confiscated by the Travancore state for his involvement in the freedom struggle.Though Nataraja Pillai was offered back the land while he was part of the Pattom Thanu Pillai ministry of 1954-55, he refused to accept it. He even donated the nearby Sundara Vilasam School started in memory of his late father, which is now known as P S Nataraja Pillai Memorial Boys Higher Secondary School.In 1968, the state government allotted the land to the law school for three years and extended it for another 30 years in 1976 before finally transferring ownership in 1985.Though Pillai’s father owned the Harvey Bungalow, a palatial building in Peroorkada, he died in a rented house while still serving as a member of Parliament in 1966, leaving many members of the family in penury. He was also a member of India’s Constituent Assembly of 1948 representing the state. Before that, he was a member of the Travancore legislative assembly.His father along with Dr Harvey was instrumental in establishing the archaeology department of Travancore and was its first director. He was close to reformist saints Sree Narayana Guru and Chattambi Swamikal.“It’s sheer ignorance. Vijayan doesn’t know who my father was,” said P Venkatesh, son of the late Congress leader, who wants the land back for public good. “It was allotted (to a private law school) disregarding our objections. We want the government to take back the land as the present owners are trying to put it to commercial exploitation.” “Vijayan should apologise to the family as well as the people of the state,” said V M Sudheeran, the Congress party’s president in Kerala, after visiting the family.“His remarks are unbecoming of his position. He made them in his eagerness to protect the management of the law academy. He should correct his mistake.”Students of the law college have been on strike for almost a month now demanding the resignation of its principal, P Lakshmi Nair. They accuse her of harassment and discrimination by caste and gender.The management which had earlier announced that classes would resume today, under police security and with the support of the student wing of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), yesterday said it would remain closed indefinitely.Other student unions have made it clear that they are not willing for any compromise short of the resignation of Nair, who hosts a popular cookery show on CPI (M)’s Kairali TV.Last week, Congress legislator K Muraleedharan, who represents the constituency, began an indefinite fast, drawing top leaders to the scene.Former defence minister A K Antony, who visited the venue yesterday, said the stir showed the emergence of “women power” on the campus, as girls with no political affiliations were at its forefront.“Muraleedharan had to join their strike as it was evident that the government was not going to do justice to them,” he said. Former chief minister V S Achuthanandan, the senior party colleague of Vijayan, had also asked him to take over the land, now worth about Rs 600mn.