Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance is the only “front team” in the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala, as he launched a sharp attack on the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
Addressing an election rally in Palakkad, Modi accused the LDF and the United Democratic Front of plundering the state for decades, and also claimed that there was an “understanding” between the two coalitions.
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“The LDF and the UDF have plundered Kerala for decades by sharing the spoils. There was an understanding between them that the LDF would run the government and line their pockets for several years, and then after a few years the UDF would plunder,” he said.
“The communists say that the Congress is the ‘B’ team of the BJP while the Congress says the same about the Left,” the Prime Minister asserted. In fact, the only ‘A’ team in Kerala is the BJP.”
Modi warned voters to remain alert on both fronts, saying: “The Congress and the Communists are forming alliances across the country. Look at Bihar, Jharkhand, from Andhra Pradesh to Manipur, Tripura and Assam. They have run the government together in Delhi. They are part of the India bloc. But in Kerala, the Congress and the Communists are trading false abuses.”
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Stating that the NDA’s goal is to fulfill the dreams of people in the southern state, he said, “When the Congress was in power, whatever money Kerala got, we gave five times that amount to the state through budgetary allocations. Be it urban development, roads, railways, agriculture, Jal Jeevan Mission and Prime Minister Awas Yojana.”
Modi said the money was distributed among various sectors. He added: “But the state government did not use the money properly. This was your right money, but the state government plundered it.”
The Chief Minister said that Kerala is currently facing a public debt of Rs $5 crore, further alleging that taxpayers’ money is going into the pockets of LDF commanders. “When the NDA government is formed, the money will be recovered from the bandits and used for the development of the state,” he said.
In response, Congress leader K Muraleedharan questioned the contribution of the BJP-led Center in Kerala. “The BJP is not a strong party in Kerala, so it cannot do anything in Kerala. It (PM Modi) always attacks the Congress party, and at the same time, it (PM Modi) has no voice in Kerala politics. What is the contribution of its (PM Modi) government in Kerala?” he said.
