EMS Namboothiripad was a Brahmin chauvinist and never allowed lower castes to come up in party or administrative positions; he was interested in promoting upper caste leaders: this was revealed by former Communist leader K R Gowri Amma in a recent interview to a Malayalam channel News 18 Keralam.
When asked why the slogan of the 80s — “KR Gowri Amma would rule the country that is abounding in Kera (coconut trees)” – did not materialize, Gowri Amma said, “It was the handiwork of EMS. He was essentially a Namboothiri; highly casteist. He never liked lower castes.” When there was a clamour to make Gowri Amma the chief minister, EMS brought in E K Nayanar who did not even contest the election.
Eminent historian MGS Narayan also had spoken about EMS’ caste prejudice. In one of the interviews, MGS said, EMS reveled in people addressing him in his caste epithets.
Gowri Amma, 99, was one of the most prominent figures in the communist movement in Kerala. She was a Minister in the communist-led Ministries in Kerala in 1957, 1967, 1980, and 1987. She also became a Minister in the Congress-led Cabinet from 2001 to 2006. She was one of the frontrunners for the post of chief minister but it was EMS who scuttled her chance.
Gowri was dismissed from party in 1994 following which she formed Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS) and aligned with the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
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