KOZHIKODE: AICC general secretary B.K. Hariprasad has said that the Modi-led government was using diversionary tactics to cover up the misdeeds of the government. “It has destroyed the economic and educational growth achieved by the previous governments,” he told reporters here on Friday. He is on a visit to Kerala as part of the Congress drive to counter the mass campaigns launched by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The AICC has selected major towns and cities for the campaign. Mr Hariprasad said that in matters like youth affairs, education, jobs, women and minorities, the centre had failed terribly.
“The BJP government collected Rs 1,32,649 crore in education cess in the last three years. Where has the money gone? Even the CAG questioned the utilisation of education cess funds as ‘not transparently ascertainable,’” he pointed out. He also alleged that the government was providing institutional cover to the ABVP and curbing free thought and expression of the young. “The crime rates are also higher in Delhi and BJP-ruled states, according to the National Crime Records Bureau records,” he added.
Regarding the presidential candidate, the Congress would seek a consensus after talks with the secular parties if the BJP candidate was not up to the mark, he said. The press conference was attended by Kozhikode DCC chief T. Siddque, Mr M.K. Raghavan, MP, and leaders K.C. Abu and P. Sankaran.
