Had no intention to insult Nataraja Pillai: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Pillai had originally owned the land assigned to the academy. While responding to the demand that the land be given back to Pillai’s heirs, the CM had told media in Kozhikode on Saturday, “Etho oru pillaiyude kariam paranjille (you spoke about some Pillai).”

The remark kicked up a storm, with Congress state chief V M Sudheeran asking the Chief Minister to apologise to Pillai’s family and people of Kerala for having insulted such a well-regarded leader. “It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister had referred to Pillai as ‘some Pillai’,” said Sudheeran.

On Sunday in Kochi, Vijayan explained: “Since I didn’t get the name (when asked by the media), I said some Pillai.’’

He added Pillai’s land was attached by C P Ramaswamy Iyer, who was the Dewan of erstwhile Travancore from 1936-47. That issue, he added, cannot be examined by the present government.

The student agitation at the KLA demanding the ouster of Principal Lakshmi Nair has brought to life an unexpected debate over the ownership of about 12 acre of land occupied by the institute. The land was with Pillai, but was usurped by the Dewan as a punishment for Pillai’s participation in the freedom struggle. Pillai had inherited the property from his father P M Sundaran Pillai, a scholar who wrote the famous play Manomaniam.

Pillai’s son N Venkatesan said that although Pattam Thanu Pillia government of 1945-55 offered to give back the land to the owners, Pillai, who had been a minister in that government, refused to accept the offer.

“In 1968, when our family members asked the government to return the land, we were told that the land was earmarked for some agriculture venture. However, the land was given on lease to the KLA in the same period. Later, it was assigned to the academy in 1985 by then Congress government led by K Karunkaran,’’ said Venkatesan, who is now living in poverty.

After the matter was exposed on the back of the student agitation, the Revenue Department, managed by CPI, ordered for a probe to ascertain the allegation that the government land was used for non-educational purpose. While CPI wanted to take action against the violations in the use of government land, the Chief Minister has maintained that the land issue is a closed chapter.