THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan mocked at Narendra Modi for promising Gujarat model of development in Kerala.
He said the Prime Minister who is campaigning in Kerala, wants the state to following his model. But Kerala is much ahead of Gujarat in socio-economic-health and human indicators.
While Kerala tops the human development index in the country, Gujarat is way down at 12th place. “Modi says he will turn Kerala into Gujarat. In Kerala, 94 per cent households have toilets while in Gujarat only 43 per cent houses have the facility. This when Modi is using toilet movement as a trump card,” he said.
The life expectancy of average Malayali is 74 years and that of Gujarati 64. “Does he want Malayalis to die at 64 ? Does he want our children to leave education and do child labour which is rampant in Gujarat ? he asked.
Achuthanandan said while the poverty rate in Kerala was just 7 per cent it was as high as 17 in Gujarat. “This is the state of Modi’s Gujarat. They often cite growth rate to eulogise Gujarat as the heaven on earth. Yes there has been resource mobilisation in Gujarat but that is limited to Ambanis and Adanis," he said.
He said industrialists were heading to Gujarat to exploit human resources and natural resources. Administration is hand in glove with the exploiters of water and air.
“Gujarat is number one in pollution and garbage. The three major rivers in the state including Sabarmati are the most polluted rivers in the country. While Adani’s and Ambanis who are responsible for polluting these rivers are getting water for Modi from the Himalayas, the poor people of the state are forced to drink water from polluted sources. All this has contributed to poor living standards, low literacy and poor education facilities. This is the kind of development model now Modi is promising to Malayalis,” he added.
Achuthanandan said Modi is trying to divert the attention of youth by dividing them on communal lines. They are pitting youth against youth. The BJP wants to create a similar communal problem in the state.
He said the values that renaissance leaders Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali stood for, are now being carried forward by the Left parties. ''Let us all join hands to defend and protect our secular values,” he added.
