Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair has come down heavily on “ritualistic worship” of political leaders in power while recalling the positions taken against it by the late Marxist ideologue and the first Chief Minister of Kerala E.M.S. Namboodiripad.
M.T. made these remarks while delivering the keynote address after opening the seventh edition of the four-day Kerala Literature Festival along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the Kozhikode beach on January 11 (Thursday).
The statements assume significance as these were uttered in the presence of Mr. Vijayan who has been accused by critics of being in the midst of sycophants. The latest instances of this include a song profusely praising Mr. Vijayan and some of his Cabinet colleagues terming him “a God’s gift”.
