In a sharp reaction to Speaker AN Shamseer’s controversial remarks on Ganesha, a Hindu deity, the Nair Service Society (NSS), an organisation of the Hindu Nair community, has decided to observe Faith Protection Day on Wednesday.

The NSS has on Tuesday directed all its taluk units to observe the Faith Protection Day and asked devotees to give offerings at the Ganesha temples in protest against Shamseer’s statement that the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha was only a myth.

Earlier on Monday, the NSS demanded the speaker’s resignation over his alleged “anti-Hindu” comments.

“The remarks are in no way justifiable, whatever be the situation. His statement crossed all limits. Every religion has its beliefs. No one has the right to question them. Any behaviour that fosters religious rivalry is unacceptable. Shamseer is no more entitled to continue in office,” NSS General Secretary G Sukumaran Nair said in a statement.

Calling his remarks on Ganesha as improper and inappropriate, not expected from a person holding a high office, Sukumaran Nair asked Shamseer to retract the statement and apologise. “His remarks are unbecoming of a person holding such a high office. Shamseer should retract. If he doesn’t do so, the government has the responsibility to take appropriate action against him,” Sukumaran Nair said.

The BJP and the Sangh Parivar outfits such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Hindu Aikya Vedi have already launched a campaign against Shamseer. The BJP has filed a complaint charging the Kerala Assembly speaker with insulting Hindu beliefs under the garb of promoting rational thought.

The complaint also points out that Shamseer, who is an ardent believer in the Islamic faith, made a conscious attempt to insult Hindu beliefs, create religious hatred, and promote enmity between followers of different faiths.

Kerala Assembly Speaker Shamseer, who is also CPI-M MLA from Thalassery constituency, made these controversial remarks at the ‘Vidya Jyothi’ programme held at a school at Kunnathunadu in Ernakulam district some days back.

During his speech at the event, Shamseer allegedly accused the Centre of trying to teach children Hindu myths instead of accomplishments in science and technology. He termed Hindu god ‘Ganesha’ and ‘Pushpaka vimana’ as myths which lack scientific facts.

The speaker said that the Hindutva ideologues propagate that it was through plastic surgery that Lord Ganesh got his face and dismissed it as a myth.“They are promoting such myths in place of science,” he said.

Shamseer also said such concepts should be rejected as myths in the age of artificial intelligence. Superstitions of the Hindutva era will hold back progress, and these are mere myths in the era of artificial intelligence, he added

Meanwhile, Union Minister for External affairs V Muralidharan asked Shamseer to clarify in which textbook myths are being propagated instead of science. “CPI-M’s anti-Hindu position has come out once again. The party’s position is that all Hindu beliefs are superstitions, he added.

Disrespecting the beliefs of the majority community is not befitting to a person holding a high constitutional position, he contended.