Election campaign in Kerala reached a crescendo by Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a whirlwind tour to Pathanamthitta and scintillated a capacity crowd of nearly ten thousand people with his emotion packed words.
The Lok Sabha constituency of Pathanamthitta from where the BJP has fielded Anil K Antony, son of former Union Defence Minister and Congress leader AK Antony was the cynosure of all eyes as Modi is the first Prime Minister to campaign from here in the electoral history of Kerala.
The presence of Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Chief Minister and Congress strongman late K Karunakaran added fuel to the fire.
Modi, who began his 45 minutes speech by reciting the Sarana Mantra of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of the holy shrine of Sabarimala Temple in the district lambasted the ruling CPI(M) and the Opposition Congress for their failure in ensuring the safety of the common man in the State. Modi pointed out the attack on a Christian priest in the district by religious extremists and the failure of the police to control such frequent attacks.
The priest of St Mary's Forane Church in Poonjar in Pathanamthitta was seriously injured by a group of Islamist youths when the former requested them not to use the church premises to test drive their high end cars and bikes. It was after two days of the incident Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan named the youths as Islamic extremists.
"Kerala which is being ruled alternately by the CPI(M) and the Congress have become a safe haven for corruption and nepotism. While the CPI(M) has specialised in making money through gold smuggling, the Congress is engaged in making fast buck through solar energy deals. Under the CPI(M) ruling, the educational institutes in the State have become safe havens for anti-social elements," said Modi referring to the death of many students in the campuses in Kerala.
The Prime Minister said both the Congress and the CPI(M) represent corruption, favouritism and appeasement.
"Kerala deserves a better Government and the BJP-led NDA alone would be able to provide the same," said Modi. He also said Anil Antony represents the changing face of Indian youth and has emerged as the hope of Pathanamthitta constituency.
Modi said while Keralalites who are reputed for their hard work toil abroad to look after their families back home, the LDF and UDF have done nothing to safeguard their interests.
"Kerala, one of the most progressive States in the country, is lagging behind in all respects of economic and social development because of the callousness of the Communists and the Congress. Political parties with the one point agenda of corruption and money making can never save the people. I was shocked when the MPs from Kerala opposed the Bill against Triple Talaq when it was legislated in Parliament," he said.
"When we brought legislation for establishing the OBC Commission, the Kerala MPs opposed the move vehemently. Isn't it shocking?" asked the Prime Minister. He listed various social and economic benefit initiatives like Ujjwala, Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Manthri Kissan Yojana measures which have benefited millions of people in Kerala itself.
