Kerala: Why Vellapally Natesan is not facing backlash from major political parties

It is a week since K K Mahesan, a local leader of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), which represents the Hindu Ezhava community in Kerala, was found hanging and some letters, purportedly written by him accusing SNDP general secretary Vellappally Natesan of abetting suicide, surfaced.

Even as the police are yet to arraign Natesan or any others as an accused in the abetment case and the family of the deceased raising suspicions over the probe, the political parties in Kerala, especially the opposition parties Congress and BJP, have not yet come up against it except for some local leaders and dissident leaders extending support to the family.

The political clout Natesan has been enjoying by being at the helm of the outfit of the Ezhava community that constitutes over 20 percent of Kerala's population could be the obvious reason for the mainstream political parties not to take an open stand against him. Natesan's son and Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) president Thushar Vellapally, who contested against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, is NDA convenor in Kerala.

BJP state president K Surendran said that the party was not taking any stand on the matter. Kerala PCC president Mullappally Ramachandran was not available for comments.

Mahesan, who was a close confidant of Natesan and secretary of the Kanichikulangara union of SNDP, was found hanging in the union office, which is close to Natesan's house in Alappuzha district, on June 24. Subsequently some letters, purported to be suicide notes of Mahesan, surfaced in the social media. One letter said that he and his wife would end their life in front of Natesan's house if Natesan tried to trap him in the case, while another said that he was being made scapegoat in an ongoing Crime Branch probe into a cheating case pertaining to a micro-finance scheme of the SNDP.

Mahesan's nephew M S Anilkumar told DH that though some leaders of all parties from Aluppuzha district, including a minister, local MP and MLA, visited the family and offered support, so far no state leaders of any political parties have extended support. The family has genuine concerns that an effective probe by local police against Natesan won't happen as the local police officials have a good rapport with him. Hence the family urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to constitute a special team to probe into the incident.

Alappuzha district police chief P S Sabu said that the investigation is progressing and so far, no decision on arraigning Natesan or any others has been taken.