Six months after allegedly being denied permission to pay tributes to Nair Service Society (NSS) founder Mannathu Padmanabhan at his final resting place in Kerala, Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan inaugurated his statue in New Delhi on July 12.
The statue is located at the Mannam International Centre.
The facility is run by the Nair Service Society in Delhi, which shares the name but functions independently of the NSS in Kerala, a dominant caste organisation of Nairs, headquartered in Changanassery.
Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai founded the Nair Service Society in 1914. The organisation has a wide network of local units called karayogams and runs more than hundred schools and several higher education institutions.
In February 2026, Radhakrishnan had visited Changanassery for the centenary celebrations of SB College and expressed a wish to offer floral tributes at the Mannam Samadhi.
Mannathu Padmanabhan gets his first name from the place Mannam and his final resting place is referred to as Mannam samadhi.
The Kerala NSS, led by general secretary G Sukumaran Nair, did not permit the visit. The organisation's stated reason was that bomb-squad dogs accompanying the Vice-President's security detail would enter the premises and defile its sanctity.
Speaking at the Delhi event, Radhakrishnan appeared to allude to the earlier episode: "Never think that you are everything, that I am the president, I am the general secretary; so you should not come or he should not come. That should not be our aim." The remark was widely read as a veiled dig at Sukumaran Nair, who has a history of restricting political leaders' access to the Mannam Samadhi to prevent parties from using it to project closeness to the organisation.
Union Minister Suresh Gopi, also present at the event, told reporters: "In Perunna, we will move forward boldly with our steps... We need to find an alternative. This is an alternative... Time will act to transform it into an organisation that you desire."
MKG Pillai, president of NSS Delhi, said the chapter had planned to install the statue since the centre's inauguration but had been unable to due to funding constraints. "There were several instances in which access was denied to people who wished to pay tributes to Mannam. This place will be open to all," he said.
Pillai said the event has no political connotations and they have no connection with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "None of us are politicians and we maintain good relations with all communities," he said.
When asked whether they had help from CV Anandabose to realise the project, he said the foundation stone was laid by the former West Bengal Governor three months ago.
The NSS Delhi chapter was formed in 1984 and now represents roughly 25,000 families, according to Pillai. The Mannam International Centre in Dwarka was inaugurated by former President Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.
Several public figures have spoken about allegedly being denied access to the Mannam Samadhi and the NSS office in Perunna.
In January 2026, CV Anandabose, speaking at a Mannam Jayanthi event organised by NSS Delhi, alleged he too had been refused permission to pay floral tributes at the Samadhi.
He proposed installing a memorial to the community leader in Delhi instead, pledging one month's salary toward the project.
In 2015, Suresh Gopi said he faced a similar rebuff from Sukumaran Nair while attempting to attend the organisation's budget presentation at NSS headquarters, during a period when he was campaigning for the BJP in the Aruvikkara bye-election.
