The district secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has officially denounced the stand of Mayor Beena Philip regarding her participation in an event organised by Balagokulam in Kozhikode on Sunday and some of the comments made there.
District secretary P. Mohanan, in an official statement, said the Mayor’s participation in the programme was not proper as it was organised by a feeder organisation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Mayor’s stand in this matter was contrary to the party policy and hence could not be approved, the statement said. The statement was in response to a question posed by District Congress Committee president K. Praveen Kumar on whether the CPI(M) approved the Mayor’s comments.
Taking part in an event organised by a women’s collective under Balagokulam, Ms. Philip, a CPI(M)-appointed Mayor, had glorified several women characters in Indian mythology and had commented that children were treated well in north India as opposed to Kerala where the attitude towards children was rather strict and partial. The comment had sparked a controversy.
Mayor’s response
In response, the Mayor had claimed that her comments were misconstrued by a section of the media with malicious intent. She said she would not have taken part in the event if she knew it would kick up a controversy. “I have taken part in BJP events before I became a Mayor. As Mayor, I was invited by a women's collective to talk to mothers. I never associated the programme with any religion," she explained.
She stood by her comment about treatment of children in north India. Ms. Philip said that the mythical characters were not the monopoly of any religion. "I have a picture of Saraswathi at home. Associating knowledge with Saraswathi is part of our cultural psychology that everyone interprets in their own way," the Mayor said.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the CPI(M) leader's presence at the RSS venue betrayed the symbiotic relationship between the organisations. Mr. Satheesan said the shared political objective to rid the country of the Congress had bonded the CPI(M) and Sangh Parivar.
BJP stance
BJP State president K. Surendran said the CPI(M) had ‘rapped’ the Mayor for attending a function held ahead of the Sree Krishna Jayanti celebrations. “Balagokulam is not a radical organisation. It’s a fellowship of children. Sree Krishna is widely revered in India as a mythical figure. Several literary works on the deity have transcended religious and linguistic divide,” he said. BJP district president V.K. Sajeevan said that the people who made a controversy out of the incident were narrow-minded. “People of different political affiliations coming together for cultural events is a positive sign,” he added.
