Kerala is back again embroiled in a major political tussle, and everything now screams religion. It all started with assembly speaker A N Shamseer's unsolicited comments on myths and superstitions circling around the Hindu religion, precisely on lord Ganapati. The populace in Kerala is split into sides over the remark but truly the opinion from the honourable speaker was incongruous by all standards.

These are times when people show little tenacity in any matter regarding religion. The violence in Nuh, Delhi, and anywhere else in India is a testament to the fact that people won't abide by any such idle talks on religion. We live in such a volatile environment that any mention of holy scriptures or Hersey can end up in brutal murder. What happened to Speaker was not a slip of the tongue but neither any deliberate attempt to tarnish Hindu religion. However, it was a gaffe nevertheless. The NSS offered a chance for the speaker to finagle out from the mire with an apology. In an ideal circumstance, it should have been considered a golden opportunity, but the speaker and CPM had other plans.

Needlessly, the speaker held resolute to his stance of scientific temper over religion.CPM on the other hand has stood strong behind the speaker and has publicly denounced NSS's askance in a grim way possible. CPM state secretary M V Govindan even went a bit ahead and labelled Hindu God Ganapati a myth. NSS has offered support to other Hindu organizations and has strongly blared out the slogan “ Faith is greater not science”.

On Wednesday, NSS conducted Namajapa processions in major parts of Thiruvananthapuram taluk. Cantonment Police has also registered cases regarding the protest that hindered traffic in the city.

During the Sabarimala protest, LDF was undaunted at first and suppressed the protest from devotees in an inappropriate fashion. The result was a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections with LDF shamed to just 1 seat out of 20. It was a revelation for the left front who later reached door-to-door campaigning admitting the mistake, beseeching voters for leniency.

It seems the government has learned little from the Sabarimala fiasco as now they are traveling the same old path of destruction. The LDF has got time to settle the case for good. Time is also acute for the Speaker to tender an apology for his ill-suited juxtaposing of Hindu religion with science.

Meanwhile, there are also ignoble attempts to paint Shamseer as a bigot favoring the Muslim religion. The case should end for good and Kerala should put the spotlight on other issues that warrant concern.