Kerala Industries Minister P. Rajeeve on March 7 said that there is “nothing new” in Congress leaders’ children joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“When (Congress leader) A.K. Antony’s son joined the BJP, neither the Congress leadership nor Mr. Antony reacted strongly to it. It appears that filial love prevented the senior Congress leader from expressing anything in public, forgetting his political responsibility. Now that Padmaja Venugopal has joined the BJP, there is nothing new to it,” he said.
Mr. Rajeeve also said it is time for the people of Kerala to think whether they should vote for the Congress for the BJP to achieve the two-figure status in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently hinted.
“There is no clarity on what the Prime Minister said. Is it that the BJP will reach the two-figure mark or whether it will buy two Congress MPs from Kerala?” he asked.
“Padmaja switching sides is also a big question before the voters. Should the traditional Congress supporters vote for the party candidates to keep the BJP’s supply chain intact or should they stand with those who have always taken the side of secular ideals irrespective of incentives and temptations?” the Minister asked.
On the reported loss of crucial documents related to the death of SFI activist Abimanyu in 2018, the Minister said that the court will look into the matter and that senior police officials will also be involved in ascertaining the facts.
