Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said that the Left Democratic Party (LDF)-led Kerala government is not different from the BJP-led central government. “The LDF has sworn allegiance to a communist manifesto but they are following a corporate manifesto. Just like the Modi government at the Centre, the LDF government is trying to sell the assets of Kerala to the corporates,” Priyanka said during the corner meeting in Karunagapally, Kollam.
Priyanka said that the public has witnessed three types of politics. “The politics of CPM has violence, state repression and scams. Politics of BJP is filled with hate and decisiveness, and the politics of Congress is building a future for Kerala,” she said, adding that for the last five years, people in Kerala have seen CPM’s politics, which is also politics of fear, fraud, and favouritism. “Tall promises were made in 2016. The LDF claims that they were representing a democratic political alternative. If that is the case, then why are they instilling fear in the people of Kerala,” she asked.
Priyanka also pointed out that instead of punishing those responsible for the killing of several young Congress leaders, the government has instead defended them. “Many young Congress workers have been killed and the Kerala government has spent a lot of money to defend these killers. They have lath charged students who made legitimate demands like the proper implementation of reservations,” she said.
The senior Congress leader also said there is a similarity between the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. “While the state government has shown a lot of concern for the wrongdoings against women in other states, the LDF government’s behaviour in the Walayar case is similar to that of the Yogi Adityanath government in the Hathras case,” she said. Priyanka said that the government tried to hide evidence, tried to show the Walayar deaths — two Dalit girls were found sexually assaulted and died under mysterious circumstances — as suicide and diluted the investigation. “The chairman of the Child Welfare Committee represented one of the accused as a lawyer. Instead of punishing the policemen who botched the investigation, the LDF government rewarded them,” she said.
Priyanka also spoke on the Love Jihad issue and said the CPM leaders’ language is similar to that of Yogi Adityanath. “I am sure if the UP Chief Minister campaigned here, he would bring up issues like Love Jihad. However, the CPM own alliance partners today are speaking in the same language,” she said, referring to Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani’s statements regarding the same issue.
Priyanka is on a two-day trip to the state as Kerala goes to the polls on April 6. Currently, the senior Congress leader is campaigning in central Kerala today and will conclude her campaigning in north Kerala tomorrow.Priyanka also questioned Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over who is running the government as he keeps saying that he has no idea about the scams committed by his government. “Every time a new scam emerges, the CM says he has no idea about it. I want to ask him, if he is not aware of what is happening under his nose, then who is running the government,” she said.
She referred to the instances of the EMCC India-Kerala government deep-sea fishing deals, where Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that the deals were done without his knowledge. Priyanka said that these claims were disproved by leaked WhatsApp chats addressing Pinarayi Vijayan’s cognizance of the KSINC-EMCC deal. “The fishing community knows that he is not telling the truth when he says he has no idea about the deals. Moreover, people from his own office are involved in the gold scam but he says he has no idea. The CM says he has no idea about the Life Mission scam as well,” Priyanka said.
However, the senior Congress leader points out that the worst scam of the Vijayan government was keeping the flood relief money to the party. “Rs 15 crore of the flood relief money for the victims were taken by CPM members and put into their accounts,” she alleged.
Priyanka also slammed CPM’s backdoor appointments. “The LDF government has shown no fairness in employment in the state. As soon they were elected to power, the CPM started appointing their people. Thousands of youths protested against backdoor appointments,” she said.
The senior Congress leader also said there is a similarity between the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. “While the state government has shown a lot of concern for the wrongdoings against women in other states, the LDF government’s behaviour in the Walayar case is similar to that of the Yogi Adityanath government in the Hathras case,” she said. Priyanka said that the government tried to hide evidence, tried to show the Walayar deaths — two Dalit girls were found sexually assaulted and died under mysterious circumstances — as suicide and diluted the investigation. “The chairman of the Child Welfare Committee represented one of the accused as a lawyer. Instead of punishing the policemen who botched the investigation, the LDF government rewarded them,” she said.
Priyanka also spoke on the Love Jihad issue and said the CPM leaders’ language is similar to that of Yogi Adityanath. “I am sure if the UP Chief Minister campaigned here, he would bring up issues like Love Jihad. However, the CPM own alliance partners today are speaking in the same language,” she said, referring to Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani’s statements regarding the same issue.
Priyanka is on a two-day trip to the state as Kerala goes to the polls on April 6. Currently, the senior Congress leader is campaigning in central Kerala today and will conclude her campaigning in north Kerala tomorrow.
