Pinarayi Vijayan hits out against PM, Cong leaders for portraying Kerala in poor light

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other top Congress leaders following their statements portraying Kerala in poor light. He added that such remarks can't stop the Left from retaining its power.

"With the election campaign reaching its peak, the BJP's top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other senior Congress leaders, have been portraying Kerala in a poor light," said Vijayan while recalling the PM's comparison of Kerala to that of Somalia during his 2016 Assembly campaign here.

Modi was in Kerala for the election campaign on Friday where he appealed to the people to give an opportunity to the BJP-led NDA for the development of the state, which he said the Left and the Congress had "failed" to achieve.

On the other hand, several Congress leaders also have been going hammer and tongs against the Vijayan government and the way it functioned in the past five years.

Vijayan said, in the past five years, Kerala came under numerous disasters and the Centre failed to come to the state's rescue.

"During the floods, the Central forces were here and after they returned, we had to pay the bill for their services. None will forget the work of our own army - 'fishermen', who were chipped in and they had never sent a bill for their services rendered. The Centre then gave us food grains along with its bill. Besides, none will forget, how the Centre failed to give us the nod to receive aid from rebuilding Kerala in the aftermath of the floods. People know everything and they will not forget anything," said Vijayan.

The CM also repeated his stock statement which he has been making everyday about the Kerala model of a new relation between the BJP and the Congress.

"Everyone knows here that the BJP and the Congress have a 'bhai bhai' relation and even when the central agencies were after the government, the Congress stood as a silent supporter," he added.

Vijayan further said that people in Kerala know how and what was done by their government in the past five years and that was what the various poll surveys revealed.

"We know how the Congress party after being elected by the people in various states gifted the governance to the BJP. Kerala is not going to go that way, even as the Congress party here is trying to do that, but the people are going to teach the Congress a lesson in the elections. This is the general perception of the people and that's why we are going to retain the power," the CM added.

(inputs from IANS)