The Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre, which has been trying to choke Kerala economically and by denying its eligible rights, is promising development packages to the State at the time of the polls, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
The Chief Minister was responding to the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during campaign meetings in the State.
Addressing a campaign meeting of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, V.S. Sunil Kumar, here on Monday, he said the people in the State knew what had been the stand of the Centre towards the State. “The State went through miserable conditions of floods, corona and Nipah outbreaks, and Ockhi. We were struggling for support. The Centre denied us even the eligible special package. It not only denied support but also stopped us from taking help from other countries, who were willing to support us. The Centre did not even give permission for the Ministers to go abroad to collect help from the non-resident Keralites,” the Chief Minister recalled.
‘We survived’
“But we survived the most difficult times. The entire world looked at us with surprise. The people here will neve forget it, he said. “The BJP has revenge towards Kerala because it never allowed the party to win from the State,” he said. The State was forced to pay ₹5,600 crore for acquiring land for national highway (NH) development in the past five years, which is the largest share in the county. No other State has given such a huge amount like this small State, Mr. Vijayan said.
“Modi was offering a high speed rail network for the State. We should remember, it was the same Centre which denied permission for the K-Rail project.”
The Prime Minster was promising to bring our State into global attention. “Kerala is already noticed by the world for its development in the sectors of education, health, and other parameters, which are on a par with developed countries.”
Coastal development
The State had been demanding a package for coastal development for many years. We were also demanding to amend the Wildlife Protection Act that gave more importance to the wild animals than to human beings, he said.
The Chief Minister said that with active interventions of the State, the Karuvannur Service Cooperative bank was limping back to normalcy. The government had taken stringent action as soon as the Karuvannur scam was unearthed. Revenue recovery procedures were started and stringent action was taken against the culprits. “But we will not allow to tarnish the image of the entire cooperative sector in the name of some isolated cases. The cooperative sector is the backbone of the State.”
The BJP could not derail the electioneering of the LDF by freezing its account. We strive on people’s strength, the Chief Minister said.
Attacking the Congress, he said the anti-people policies of the Congress-led second UPA led to the victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2014. Financial policies of the UPA and the NDA were almost the same. The Congress failed to oppose the CAA efficiently. “No country will discriminate against its refugees on the basis of their religion. “
He urged the people to vote for Mr. Sunil Kumar. “Our country is in danger. We need to protect democracy and secularism, the essence of the country’s Constitution.” The Chief Minister attended campaign programmes in Irinjalakuda and Chavakkad too.
