BJP president Amit Shah wishing Vamana Jayanthi on Monday, a day ahead of Onam, had set off a controversy in Kerala.
With the wish coming amidst RSS’s alleged efforts to re-define Onam as the birth anniversary of Vamana-one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu- instead of the return of asura king Mahabali, Amit Shah had struck the wrong chord with not only Malayalis but also many CPI (M) leaders in the state.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also demanded an apology saying that Amit Shah had insulted Malayalis.
Taking a dig at many CPI (M) leaders who condemned Amit Shah’s Vamana Jayanthi wishes in an attempt to protect the legend of Mahabali, BJP leader K Surendran said on Wednesday that Amit Shah must get credit for making CPI (M) leaders accept legends about Mahabali.
"It is only yesterday that Malayalis understood that CPI (M) leaders including Thomas Isaac and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan do believe in mythology. They maintained that they would only accept Mahabali, and not Vamana," he wrote on Facebook.
Surendran criticized CPI(M)'s stand saying that the same party had till now maintained that legends on Mahabali and Vamana were purely made up stories and that Onam was only a harvest festival.
"In how many classes did they speak against these superstitious beliefs? At least now they have accepted somebody, even though for BJP rivalry. That credit must go to Amit Shah," Surendran said, with not an ounce of sarcasm being lost on the readers.
Though Amit Shah did wish the people of Kerala on Onam, the CPI (M) raised objection, more so because of the timing of both the wishes.
"Their defense that Vamana Jayanthi and Onam are two different festivals is not acceptable. This all started with an article in RSS's mouthpiece Kesari. How else can one justify the timing of the wishes? Until now BJP never made a mention about Vamana Jayanthi," Thomas Isaac wrote on Facebook.