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Modi launches two-pronged attack on Rahul, Kerala govt
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] government in Kerala for the alleged corruption in the state’s cooperative banks and the ties between the two parties at the national level despite rivalry in the state
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] government in Kerala for the alleged corruption in the state’s cooperative banks and the ties between the two parties at the national level despite rivalry in the state.
In a push to the Bhaatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) campaign in Kerala, which will go to polls in a single phase on April 26, the PM addressed public meetings in Kunnamkulam in Alathur constituency and Kattakkada in Attingal constituency on Monday.
Addressing an election rally in Kunnamkulam, Modi, without naming Gandhi directly, said, “A senior leader of Congress, who found it difficult to save his respect in his family seat in Uttar Pradesh, has made a backdoor in Kerala. To win the election here, the Congres has joined hands with the political wing of an organisation which has been banned in the country for anti-national activities. But have you ever heard these Congress leaders speak about the scams in cooperative banks and how the money was looted? The ‘Yuvaraj’ of Congress (referring to Rahul Gandhi) will ask for votes from the people of Kerala, but will never speak for your rights and the issues you face.”
The PM was referring to the Kerala unit of SDPI, political wing of the banned Islamist outfit PFI, which had extended its support to the Congress-led UDF in Kerala in the coming Lok Sabha polls on April 1. However, on April 4, the UDF leadership rejected the support of SDPI.
Cautioning the people about the pact between the Left and the Congress as part of the national INDIA bloc despite the contest between the two parties in Kerala, the PM said that their single target was him and the BJP.
“The Congress leaders in Kerala may call Left leaders ‘terrorist’, but in Delhi, they have made a political pact and they eat from the same plate. In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, both parties are fighting elections together. The leaders of Left who used to make dynastic accusations against Congress, they are now taking tips from the same party on the benefits of dynastic politics. They have formed an INDIA bloc because they know that Modi is putting a stop to their loot. Be it Left or Congress, their target is Modi. I want to assure you that every vote of the people of Kerala will be used to solve the problems of the poor,” the PM said.
In his address, the PM also raised the allegations of fraud and money laundering at the CPM-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank, which are currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and promised to return the looted money back to the people who invested in the bank.
“In Kerala, the money of the common people is being openly looted. They (LDF) are bringing new models of corruption. The scam at the Karuvannur cooperative bank is an example of the loot of Left parties which has left everyone frustrated. The bank has been looted by CPM leaders and left high and dry,” he said.
“The chief minister here who belongs to CPM is repeatedly lying that the victims of the bank scam will get their money back. He also lied that the accused will be punished. It was Modi who got this case investigated,” he said.
The PM further assailed the “character” of Left governments, claiming that there is “nothing left” in those states where they governed and “nothing right” has been done under their rule.
“They left Bengal in a bad shape. They brought misgovernance in Tripura and they are doing the same in Kerala too,” he alleged.
In Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district, the PM was flanked by Union Ministers V Muraleedharan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar who have been nominated as BJP candidates in Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram respectively. Both seats are witnessing triangular contests with the BJP having 24% and 31% vote-shares respectively in 2019.
At the public meeting in Attingal, the PM reiterated the BJP’s ‘guarantees’ listed in the party’s manifesto for the upcoming polls.
“The BJP’s sankalp patra means Modi’s guarantee. It is that India will be world’s third largest economy in the next five years. India will be a centre of world-class infrastructure and achieve great things in the space sector like Gaganyaan mission. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi will continue to be given to farmers. There will be 3 crore new homes for poor people. Those above 70 will get free treatment and 10 crore women will get self-help group training in sectors like tourism, retail, IT and health. There is an expansive roadmap for people of all sectors of Kerala in BJP’s development vision,” Modi said.
The PM said that railway infrastructure in the country will get a big boost through the three versions of the Vande Bharat trains - sleeper, chair car and metro.
“There is work going on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor. While the train will start running soon in that route, more bullet trains would be introduced in north, east and south too. In the third term of the NDA, survey work will soon start on expanding the bullet train network,” he said.
