Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express, Kerala’s first such train, on day two of his visit to the southern state, where he addressed a youth conclave and met Christian leaders in Kochi a day earlier
He will arrive at Thiruvananthapuram central railway station at 10.30am to preside over the inauguration ceremony in presence of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and governor Arif Mohammad Khan.
Modi will later flag off the country’s first water-integrated metro system in Kochi connecting rail, road, and waterways for decongesting existing transport networks and providing the cheapest travel to idyllic backwaters. He will also, among other things, inaugurate a Digital Science Park.
In his address to the youth conclave in Kochi, Modi on Monday said Kerala will also soon accept the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Goa and the northeastern states as he called for a change in the state while blaming the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front for holding back the state’s development.
The BJP last year returned to power in Goa, which has a 25.10% Christian population. It shares power in alliance with regional parties in the Christian-majority northeastern states of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP last year returned to power in Goa, which has a 25.10% Christian population. It shares power in alliance with regional parties in the Christian-majority northeastern states of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
{{/usCountry}}Modi’s meeting with Syro-Malabar church head Cardinal George Alancherry and eight other Christian leaders in Kerala came against the backdrop of the BJP attempts to reach out to the Christians, which account for 18.38% of the state’s population while Hindus 54.73%, and Muslims 26.56%.
The BJP lost its lone seat in Kerala in the 2021 assembly elections. Outreach to the Christian community is seen as a key aspect of the BJP’s attempts to make inroads into the state.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan cited attacks against Christians in north India and said Modi’s meeting with their Christian leaders will not make any impact.