‘BJP attacks minorities but LDF taking its support’: Rahul Gandhi targets Left in Kerala
Congress leader alleges LDF has become ‘corporate party like BJP’; raises agrarian distress, land rights issues in Idukki rally
Rahul Gandhi on 4 April alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party attacks minorities across the country while the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala continues to take its support.
“BJP attacks minorities across the country, burns churches in Manipur and attacks Kerala nurses in Chhattisgarh, yet the LDF is happily taking their support,” he claimed while addressing an election rally in Kattappana ahead of the 9 April Assembly polls.
“Left Front is no longer a Left party; it has become a corporate party like the BJP,” he added.
Attack on LDF government
Gandhi targeted the LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging that key sectors such as agriculture and plantations had declined under its rule.
“If they were truly Left, workers and plantation sectors would not have been suffering,” he said.
He claimed that crops such as tea, rubber and cardamom were facing decline and alleged that the LDF had failed to fulfil its promise of raising rubber MSP to Rs 250.
“Now the BJP-controlled Rubber Board is unwilling to raise MSP to Rs 300,” he said.
The Congress leader said thousands of families in Idukki lacked land rights.
“They cannot construct houses or cultivate because they do not have land rights,” he said.
He also alleged that healthcare infrastructure in the district was inadequate, pointing to the absence of a super-specialty hospital and the need for residents to travel to Kottayam for advanced treatment.
Employment, local issues
Gandhi raised concerns over unemployment, claiming that “one out of three” people in the state is jobless and alleging that political affiliation influences employment opportunities.
“Young people without Left affiliation are forced to go overseas for jobs,” he said.
Referring to human-animal conflict in the region, he said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) would work to address the issue if voted to power.
Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on various issues and reiterated allegations of a nexus between the BJP and the LDF.
He outlined the Congress party’s “five guarantees” for Kerala, stating they would focus on empowering women.
“I was not born in Kerala, but I am already a Keralite,” he said.
There was no immediate response from the LDF or the BJP to the allegations.