LDF, UDF two sides of same coin, support BJP: Nadda at Kerala event

BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday took aim at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the gold smuggling case detected at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, and also accused him of "messing up" the COVID-19 situation in the state by "suppressing" figures.

He alleged that the Left government in the state was "inefficient, corrupt and believes in violence".

Speaking from the national capital at the inauguration of a party office in Kerala's Kasaragod district, Nadda said the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF were two sides of the same coin and sought people's support for his party.

With the BJP having been unable to make a serious political impact in the southern state despite its increased vote share in recent polls, Nadda accused the LDF and the UDF of joining hands to keep his party at bay.

He asserted that the saffron party was determined to emerge victorious in the state.

Assembly elections in Kerala are due next year.

Despite the BJP having no Lok Sabha MP and only one MLA from Kerala, the Modi government has left no stone unturned for the state's development, Nadda said.

Questioning the role of the chief minister's office in the gold smuggling case, he said Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a thorough probe in the matter.

"We have a saying 'chor ki daadhi mein tinka' (A thief is always suspicious). This means the office of the chief minister is also involved somewhere... The colour of gold is yellow everywhere but in Kerala, it is red, red and red. What is the relationship between that IT officer and the CM's personal secretary?" he asked.

The Kerala government had removed IAS officer M Sivasankar, who was secretary to the chief minister and the IT principal secretary, following allegations that he had close links with a woman suspect in the case.

The official has gone on a year's leave and the case is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"Misappropriation of funds, atrocities against Dalits and women, nepotism in political appointments and political patronage are prevalent under the Pinarayi government. Not only is it inefficient but it is also corrupt. It also believes in violence," Nadda said.

Over 270 BJP workers have been killed in "CPI(M)-sponsored" political violence in the last two decades, he claimed.

The coronavirus situation in Kerala, the BJP chief alleged, was messed up by the Left government as it suppressed actual figures and did not pay heed to experts' calls for ramping up testing facilities.

"It has played politics at a time of crisis," he said, adding that over 1.21 lakh people brought to the state as part of the Vande Bharat Mission were not given adequate help.

On the other hand, the Modi government has left "no stone unturned" to push development in the state, he said.

Nadda claimed more than Rs 2 lakh crore has been given for the development of railway infrastructure, Rs 64,000 crore for national highways and Rs 3,400 crore for developing the Cochin shipyard to the state.

The prime minister has an "emotional bonding" with Kerala, he said, highlighting Modi's interactions with its diaspora during his visits to the Gulf countries.

Though the BJP has no Lok Sabha MP from the state, the party has given it representation in Rajya Sabha and a voice in the Union government by making V Muraleedharan a minister, he added.

Seeking to corner the Left government, Nadda accused it of trying to "destroy" the faith of Sabarimala devotees and alleged that the Guruvayur Temple Devasthanam management was "forced" to deposit funds into the chief minister's relief fund.

"This is not only unconstitutional but also an insult to the donation given by the devotees and a betrayal to them," the BJP president said.

Nadda also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is a Lok Sabha MP from the state, for his criticism of the Modi government on the border standoff with China.

The country was aware of Gandhi's patriotism, he said wryly, adding that the Congress leader had "secretly" met the Chinese envoy in India during the Doklam crisis and "misled" the nation before people got to know about it when the envoy put out the information.

Gandhi skipped 11 meetings of Parliament's committee on defence, and this shows his dedication to the issue, Nadda said.

He accused the Congress leader of "demoralising" the country's defence forces.