A reset in ties
Against a backdrop of rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Bangladesh, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s recent visit to Dhaka marked a crucial effort to restore bilateral ties.
Amid the raging controversy over Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer’s remark that the Hindu deity “Ganesha is a myth” , CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan on Friday said neither he nor Shamseer termed the Hindu deity a myth.
“Allah and Ganesha are part of the belief. Neither me, nor Speaker AN Shamseer has said that Ganesha is a myth. There is no need to say that beliefs are myths,” Govindan said in New Delhi.
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He asserted that he won’t take any stance against believers. “Believers have the right to believe in Ganapati (Lord Ganesha) or Allah. I didn’t term Ganapati (Lord Ganesha) a myth or endorse Allah as a non-mythical concept,” MV Govindan said.
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Shamseer has been accused of insulting Hindu god, Lord Ganesha during the inauguration of the Vidyajyothi programme held at a school at Kunnathunadu in Ernakulam district some days back. During his speech at the event, Shamseer termed Hindu god ‘Ganesha’ as myth which lack scientific facts.
The remark triggered a controversy after BJP and RSS launched a campaign against Speaker Shamseer demanding his resignation. They also demanded that the speaker should apologise for his remarks on Lord Ganesha. However, the CPI-M put up a strong defence for Shamseer.
Govindan had said on Wednesday that there was no question of Shamseer either expressing regret or withdrawing his comment. “What Shamseer stated was misconstrued. There is nothing to rectify in his statement on Ganesha. Is the concept of Ganapati (Ganesha) science? Is it not a myth,” he asked a journalist while addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Now on Friday, taking a volte-face, he said, “neither me nor Speaker AN Shamseer has said that Ganesha is a myth.” His statement came amid reports that outrage against Shamseer’s remarks is gaining momentum.
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