Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent statement on the state’s financial condition and said the BJP-led government consistently ignored the state and denied crores of rupees duly owed to it.
He also lashed out at the Congress leadership including Wayanad MP, Rahul Gandhi, and alleged that for the past five years, the 18 UDF MPs from the state stood against the interest of Kerala in the Parliament and refused to speak up for the rights of the people of the southern state.
Addressing multiple election rallies at Vatakara Lok Sabha Constituency, where the Left party has fielded former health minister and MLA, K K Shailaja, the chief minister attacked Modi and asked the PM to be “more diligent” with the facts.
The prime minister had on April 15 claimed during an election rally in Kerala that the Supreme Court had turned down the state’s request for additional borrowing, attributing the financial woes to the Left government’s “mismanagement”.
“Now the prime minister is claiming that the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court and suffered a huge setback. When you are the prime minister, you should be more diligent with the facts. Is it right to misrepresent the facts? Everyone knows the facts of that matter. It was not a secret,” Vijayan said at the election meeting.
The Kerala government had moved the apex court seeking intervention alleging financial strangulation by the union government.
Vijayan said that after the hearing on the matter, the Supreme Court asked the union government to allot Rs 13,000 crore which was rightfully due to Kerala. “You (BJP government) allotted it afterwards.
The Supreme Court had to intervene to get us what was rightfully due to us. On further hearing the apex court said Kerala has raised a serious matter involving fiscal federalism,” Vijayan added.
The court also formed a five-judge Constitution bench to hear and settle the matter, he said.
“What does it mean, Prime Minister? It means, the apex court accepted the contention of Kerala and in fact, it was a setback for them as well as the 18-member Congress-led UDF MPs,” Vijayan said.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister lashed out at the Congress leadership including Rahul Gandhi, and alleged that for the past five years, the 18 UDF MPs from the state stood against the interest of Kerala in the Parliament and refused to speak up for the rights of the people of the southern state.
The Left leader also attacked the Congress leadership over various matters including its stand on the CAA and the electoral bonds scam.
Reacting sharply to the Congress allegation that there was some understanding between the Left party and the BJP, Vijayan raked up the DLF-Robert Vadra connection and targeted AICC leader Priyanka Gandhi who was campaigning in the state.
“In 2019, 18 UDF members were elected. We would like to ask whether any one of these members stood for the interest of Kerala. They stood with the RSS agenda. They didn’t even care to criticise the union government in the Parliament. Have they uttered a single word for Kerala?,” Vijayan asked.
He said when the Centre was financially strangulating the state, the UDF members refused to meet the Union Finance Minister and did not stand up for the rights of Kerala.
“They (Congress) wanted to blame the Left government for the faults of the BJP-led union government,” Vijayan said.
The state Congress leadership had recently alleged that there was some understanding between the BJP and the Left party. Rahul Gandhi too had lashed out at Vijayan and wondered why the Left leader was targeting him while he was fighting against the BJP.
Vijayan said the Citizenship Amendment Act was the agenda of RSS and asked how a political party like the Congress could decide not to mention it in its election manifesto.
The senior Left leader claimed news reports were indicating that strongly worded statements against CAA included in the draft of the Congress manifesto were removed after the top leadership intervened.
“When Sangh Parivar implements one of its agenda, the secular-minded people oppose it. Rahul Gandhi should make it clear whether he is a secular person or someone with the same mindset as that of the Sangh Parivar. How can the Congress not protest against such a Law?,” Vijayan asked.
Targeting Priyanka Gandhi, Vijayan referred to the CBI raids at a private company DLF. He said there were allegations of land dealings between the company and Robert Vadra, husband of Priyanka Gandhi.
Vijayan claimed the company purchased electoral bonds for Rs 170 crore after raids. “The same BJP government later told the court that there was nothing illegal with the transactions of the company. The raid and the case ended soon after they paid the BJP through the electoral bonds,” Vijayan said.
He also attacked the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, for his statement that there was some understanding between the BJP and the LDF.
Mentioning various Congress leaders who have joined the BJP in the past few months and DLF purchasing electoral bonds from the BJP, Vijayan asked Satheesan not to spread lies against the Left party.
“After receiving Rs 170 crore through electoral bonds from the DLF, the BJP stopped the raids. The BJP government gave a clean chit to DLF and Vadra. Now, Satheesan needs to explain to us the understanding that happened in this transaction,” Vijayan said.
The Left leader also lashed out at Satheesan for claiming at a recent press meeting that the CPI(M) too received electoral bonds.
“The whole country knows that the Left parties were against the electoral bond system as it amounts to corruption and that it was the CPI(M) which moved the Supreme Court and exposed it,” Vijayan said.
Attacking Rahul Gandhi on his party stand on the contentious CAA, Vijayan said the Wayanad MP has not said a single word against it.
“The Congress protested jointly with the Left in Kerala but later it withdrew from the agitation after the national leadership opposed it. If we look at it, we can understand that the Congress has not uttered a single word against the CAA outside Kerala,” Vijayan said.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)