The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Achuthanandan refutes charge

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Achuthanandan refutes charge

Staff Reporter

Row over remarks on R. Sankar

Claims Chennithala’s remarks in view of Lok Sabha polls
Says he only criticised political stand of R.Sankar

KOCHI: The Congress has been ignoring the former Chief Minister R. Sankar and now they are celebrating his birth centenary with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said.

He was replying to a statement by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala demanding apology from Mr. Achuthanandan for “insulting” Sankar. The Chief Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the Kerala Youth Forum organised by the State Youth Welfare Board here on Saturday.

“I attended two meetings to commemorate Sankar’s birth centenary and on both occasions I mentioned about his contributions to the education sector and also criticised the political stand taken by him during the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle,” Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Sankar, along with Pattom Thanu Pillai, was in support of the ‘American Model’ government mooted by the then Diwan of Travancore nation State Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer.

Sankar visited the leaders of the struggle and requested disbanding of the camps. In return, leaders like Kumara Panicker asked Sankar whether he could make the Diwan drop the proposed model of administration, which he failed to do, Mr. Achuthanandan said.

“Mr. Chennithala had only heard about all these, whereas I was there when it happened. Sankar never teamed up with communal forces in his career, except during the Liberation Struggle. Congress continues to join hand with communal parties to fight the Communist party,” he said.

Staff Reporter writes from Alappuzha: Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony has condemned Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s reported remarks on the former Chief Minister R. Sankar and termed them “avoidable” and “unfortunate.”

Speaking to reporters after attending an award function organised by the Kerala Brahmana Sabha here on Saturday, Mr. Antony said Mr. Sankar had to face a lot of opposition and controversies when he was alive. But his contributions to the people of Kerala in various spheres, particularly education, could not be ignored. Even Communists and others who criticised him vehemently in those days had later accepted publicly that their views were wrong.

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