C.K. Padmanabhan. File photoKannur: Amid the row over Sangh Parivar's attack on dissenting artists in Kerala, a senior BJP leader has blasted his party colleagues for their remarks against veteran writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair and filmmaker Kamal.
BJP national executive committee member C.K. Padmanabhan has said that party state general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan's comments that Kamal should leave the country was unwarranted.
Padmanabhan said Radhakrishnan's attack on personalities such as Kamal and MT has not only put the party in bad light, but also diverted attention from crucial issues like CPM's murderous politics and alleged graft in cooperative sector.
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"I didn’t hear Kamal saying anything against the playing of the national anthem in theaters. He just said that the police should inform him before arresting the delegates who hesitates to stand up when the national anthem is played before screenings at IFFK," Padmanabhan said, referring to the row over national anthem during the International Film Festival of Kerala last month. Kamal is the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and the director the film festival.
Following the row, Kamal was branded as an anti-national by the BJP, which staged a series of protests against him. BJP leaders such as Radhakrishnan, M.T. Ramesh and Sobha Surendran had also criticized him in public. Radhakrishnan had also attacked MT after the jnanpith winner writer criticised the central government's demonetization drive.
"Read The Bolivian Diary"
When asked about Radhakrishnan's comment that pictures of Latin American communist leader Che Guevara must be removed from Kerala, Padmanabhan said those who don't know about Che must read his book "The Bolivian Diary". He said he used to advise young cadres to read Che Guevara's book to learn about organizational skills when he was heading the party in Kerala.
