Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 13 (IANS) The simmering differences between former Kerala minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar and Nair Service Society (NSS) General Secretary G. Sukumaran Nair have burst into the open, with the actor-turned-politician on Thursday stepping up his attack on the powerful community organisation’s leadership and challenging him to fight any legal battle with his own money.
NSS is the social organisation of the Hindu Nair community.
Responding to Nair’s remark that those alleging a lack of democracy in the NSS could be taken to court, Ganesh Kumar said he had no immediate intention of filing a case.
If Nair chose to take the matter to court, however, “it will not be settled during his lifetime”, he said, alleging that the NSS chief would use the organisation’s money to fight the case.
Ganesh Kumar alleged that Nair would not spend money from his own pocket but would use the funds of the NSS, which, he recalled, Mannathu Padmanabhan had built by collecting handfuls of rice from members.
He also alleged that in an earlier case, NSS funds were used to engage a lawyer and obtain as many as 89 adjournments.
“If he has the dignity, let him argue the case. Getting the case adjourned 89 times is disrespectful to the judiciary,” Ganesh Kumar said, challenging Nair to spend his own money if he wanted to pursue litigation.
The former minister had earlier accused the NSS leadership of functioning in an autocratic, undemocratic, and nepotistic manner, saying he had raised these concerns with Nair personally and within the organisation when he was a member of its Board of Directors.
He insisted that he was not opposed to the NSS or its activities but felt compelled to speak publicly after seeing what he described as attempts to destroy the organisation.
Ganesh Kumar also raised questions over 44 appointments in the NSS, alleging that Nair had appointed his relative as a Plus Two laboratory assistant two months ago.
He demanded an explanation over an alleged transaction involving money taken from a private bank and subsequently returned.
He also asked Nair to clarify the present status and ownership of a college in Tamil Nadu called ‘Sri Ayyappa’, which, he said, is mentioned in Mannathu Padmanabhan’s biography as having been purchased by the NSS.
Ganesh Kumar’s public offensive is notable given his long association with Kerala politics.
A film star who entered electoral politics in 2001, he represented Pathanapuram continuously until his defeat in the April 2026 Assembly election.
He served as a minister three times — twice in Congress-led UDF governments and once in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet.
He represents the Kerala Congress-Pillai, founded by his father and veteran politician R. Balakrishna Pillai, one of the founders of the UDF.
After resigning from the Oommen Chandy ministry in 2013 following a domestic violence case filed by his wife, Ganesh Kumar increasingly distanced himself from the UDF.
His party joined the Left camp in 2016. Now, from outside the Assembly, Ganesh Kumar appears to have found a new platform: a very public battle with the NSS leadership.
–IANS
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