Congress-IUML mounts pressure on Kerala government to hold Vellappally Natesan accountable for stoking religious schism

The Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) sought to mount pressure on the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on Sunday (July 20, 2025) to hold Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan accountable for allegedly stoking religious schisms in society through “communal and caste grievance-weighted hate speeches.” 

Almost synchronously, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] appeared to scramble to distance itself from the Hindu backward class organisation leader’s contentious remarks. It seemed not lost on the CPI(M) that Mr. Natesan headed the Left Democratic Front (LDF)-backed Renaissance Protection Samiti (RPS), a collective formed in 2019 ostensibly to further progressive and secular values to counter a perceived right-wing drift towards identity politics in Kerala society. 

The CPI(M) State secretariat urged the SNDP Yogam leadership to pursue the humanist, progressive, and secular values expounded by social reformer and Renaissance leader Sree Narayana Guru. The CPI(M) stated that social organisations were free to raise any issue concerning the people. However, it should not be in a manner that created religious divisions and hate. 

Chandrika flays Natesan

The fraught relationship between the IUML-Congress leadership and Mr. Natesan appeared to fray further on Sunday, with IUML mouthpiece Chandrika criticising Mr. Natesan for allegedly spewing “communal venom to claw back socio-political relevance.” Mr. Natesan had invited the UDF leadership’s ire by remarking on Saturday that both the ruling front and the Opposition were uniformly beholden to the Muslim community, given its “growing electoral and economic heft.” He said both fronts were hostages to minority vote bank politics. He had alleged that the IUML planned to expand its presence to central and south Kerala by demanding more seats in the regions in the 2026 Assembly polls, possibly with an eye on the Chief Minister’s post.

IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty emphasised that it was the responsibility of the LDF government to act against individuals who exploited the bully pulpit of influential social organisations to cause communal divisions in Kerala’s secular society. Nevertheless, he avoided addressing the question of whether the police should charge Mr. Natesan with creating enmity between different sets of people and instead placed the burden on the government to “determine the proper course of action.”

Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan alleged that Mr. Natesan raised dog whistle issues such as caste and religion at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He accused the CPI(M) of sending a subtly aimed political message through Mr. Natesan to galvanise the majority community votes by othering minorities. Mr. Satheesan accused the CPI(M) of sacrificing secularism at the altar of political expediency. 

Mr. Natesan stated that some quarters sought to quell the Ezhava communities’ “struggle for social, economic, and political justice” by cherry-picking Sree Narayana Guru’s teachings. He said he was “willing to go to jail for speaking social truths.”