Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress party on Sunday sounded its poll bigul from Thrissur with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge unleashing a frontal attack on the Narendra Modi government for its “all-round” failure and divisive policies.
Addressing a mammoth “Mahajana Rally” in the historic Thekkinkadu maidan, Kharge lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for weaponizing agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI and IT department to target opposition leaders. They are being arrested on frivolous charges and thrown in jails by selectively misusing the central agencies.
The Congress mass rally in many ways was a response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s back-to-back programmes in the Thrissur district last month. The BJP is eyeing the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat by fielding actor Suresh Gopi. T N Prathapan of the Congress is the sitting MP.
Kerala is a crucial state for the Congress in the parliamentary elections. In 2019, the Congress-led UDF won 19 of the 20 seats. Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad created a wave in favour of Congress in the state besides the Sabarimala issue also helped the party electorally.
However, this time around the CPM-led LDF is gearing up to give a strong fight to the UDF as Kerala remains its only hope.
The Congress president accused the BJP government at the centre of systematically weakening all democratic institutions. “People are being appointed to high profile posts not based on merit but based on their affiliation with the BJP and RSS. University vice-chancellors, directors of PSUs, and premier institutions are being chosen considering their Sangh Parivar background. “We must protect the values of democracy, justice and inclusiveness,” he urged workers.
He slammed Modi for not visiting trouble-torn Manipur yet. “Modi has time to travel across the country to address election meetings, spend holidays in Lakshadweep and click pictures, but no time to visit Manipur. Our leader Rahul Gandhi visited the state twice including the troubled areas,” he said.
Kharge attacked Modi for his failure to provide jobs to the youth. Inflation and unemployment have seriously affected the youth, socially marginalised sections and minorities. “BJP government’s policies have destroyed the public sector and cooperative sector. The PSUs which used to provide jobs to millions of people across the country, especially to the SC, ST and OBC sections, have been destroyed by the Modi government. They are now focussing only on the private sector and particularly Modi’s close industrialist friends.K
Kharge said the rising prices of essential commodities including food grains, pulses, and LPG have broken the backbone of the poor and middle-class sections of the country.
The Congress president urged the people to vote for Congress in the coming Lok Sabha polls. “As we stand on the brink of a crucial election, I urge the people of Kerala to vote for Congress to protect and safeguard democracy and democratic institutions. Your decision will determine the future of India. If we win Kerala we will surely win India,” he said amid applause from the workers.H
He thanked the people of Kerala for electing Rahul Gandhi to the Lok Sabha.
The Congress president kept the attack on the Modi government throughout his speech and spared the CPM-led LDF government in the state.
KPCC president K Sudhakaran presided over the meeting. AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, UDF convenor M M Hassan and several other leaders including MPs addressed the gathering.
