Time is right for BJP to make an entry into Kerala: Amit Shah
Alappuzha (Kerala), April 24 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) On the last day of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday slammed the ruling CPI-M-led Left and the opposition UDF led by the Congress in the state. The 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala go to the polls on Friday. “For years, these two political fronts have been cheating the people of Kerala, and now the time has come for the BJP to make an entry into the state. I appeal to the people of Kerala to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is given a third term, as we assure you that we will take care of the developmental needs of Kerala,” Amit Shah said. The Home Minister made the remarks while addressing an election rally in support of the BJP candidate from the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat, Sobha Surendran, who is pitted against sitting CPI-M MP A.M. Ariff, and two-time former MP and Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, presently a Rajya Sabha member. “Communism has become history the world over, and soon Communists will disappear from the country. Likewise, the Congress too is heading towards the same direction and hence this is the right time to welcome the BJP into Kerala,” the Home Minister said. Turning to the alleged scams in the state, Amit Shah accused the CPI-M of looting the cooperative sector. “The cooperative sector is for the common people. But the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected ‘loot’ in the Karuvannoor Cooperative Bank, which is managed by the CPI-M. The Congress also did the same. Both these parties are cheating the people in Kerala and West Bengal, while they remain friends in Delhi as part of the INDIA bloc,” he said. The Home Minister also said that the priceless mining sector in Kerala is the biggest source of corruption. “This sector is being used by both the CPI-M and the Congress leaders,” he said. Stating that both these political fronts had a soft corner for the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), the Home Minister said, “While the SDPI (the political arm of the PFI) has pledged its support to the Congress, the PDP (led by jailed Abdul Nassar Maudany) supports the Left. You should all know that it was the Modi government which banned the PFI.”
