Centre’s rejection of Narayana Guru tableau condemned

PTI, Jan 16, 2022, 5:49 PM IST

Senior Congress leader B Ramanath Rai on Sunday strongly criticised the Centre for rejecting the tableau of saint reformer Sree Narayana Guru proposed by the Kerala government to present during the republic day parade.

Addressing reporters here, Rai said the rejection of the tableau of the great visionary Sree Narayana Guru by the union government for the republic day parade is ‘highly condemnable.’ Guru was a great visionary, spiritual philosopher and social reformer who fought against the caste system, injustice and social discrimination done to the suppressed backward classes by the upper castes.

Guru, who preached the doctrine of ‘one caste, one religion, one God, has thousands of followers and devotees. By rejecting a tableau on him, the Centre has insulted the great visionary and his philosophy, the former minister said, adding the decision is ‘painful’ and ‘unforgivable.’ Rai said when the Congress was in power in Karnataka, the state had observed Guru’s birth anniversary as a government programme. A Sree Narayana Guru study chair was also instituted at the Mangalore university. The Centre’s rejection of the tableau on him is an insult to the great visionary cannot be tolerated, he said.