BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday asked the people of Kerala to make the State Congress-mukt with the next election. Addressing thousands of party workers who braved heavy rains to participate in a protest programme at the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram against the corruption in the State Government, Shah said, “As God showers his blessings from the skies, I appeal to the people of Kerala to make the State Congress-mukt and bring the BJP to power in the coming election.”
Stating that the Congress-led UDF Government in Kerala was pursuing the same path of corruption the former UPA regime had trodden, the BJP chief said neither the Congress nor the communists could ensure the development of the State. “Only the BJP can make development a reality in Kerala,” he said.
Accusing the former UPA Government of plundering the country, Shah said it had 76 scams to its credit, causing a loss of Rs10 lakh crore to the nation. “The Kerala Government is pursuing that same path of scams,” he said, adding that even the opponents could not accuse the Narendra Modi Government of even a single scam.
The BJP had organized the siege, which Shah formally inaugurated, to protest against the corruption in the State Government and the “politics of adjustment” between the UDF and the CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF. Thousands of BJP workers from different parts of the State participated in the protest, which began on Monday evening and concluded at noon Tuesday.
Slamming the UDF Government headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for the various corruption scandals it was facing just when it had entered the fifth year of its tenure, Shah said, “While the Modi Government in the Centre is celebrating the first anniversary of rule of development, the Government here is celebrating its fourth anniversary of corruption.”
Indicating how disappointing the job sector of the State was, Shah said, “Young Kerala girls are going out of the State to Delhi, UP and other places in search of employment. Only a Government led by the BJP can create a situation which would enable the youth of Kerala to work for its development,” the BJP chief said.
On an earlier visit to Kerala, Shah had told BJP workers and leaders that the party’s objective in the State was not just to open electoral account but to capture power through systematic work. The BJP chief, according to sources, views the civic polls due in September as the ladder for the party’s ascend to the path of coming to power in the State.
On Tuesday, he said in Thiruvananthapuram that the Modi Government was bringing a transformation in the country 68 years after Independence and this transformation should happen in Kerala also. Prime Minister Modi’s agenda had received tremendous appreciation abroad and this was a recognition not for an individual but for the 125 crore people of the country, he said.
State BJP president V Muraleedharan, senior leaders K Surendran and AN Radhakrishnan, O Rajagopal, PK Krishnadas, MT Ramesh, Sobha Surendran and others participated in the protest programme at the Secretariat gates as heavy rains lashed the capital city.