PM Modi helps only corporate giants, ignores poor: Rahul Gandhi in Kerala

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pandering to the interests of big corporates rather than empowering millions of poor in the country even as BJP chief JP Nadda said the time was ripe to throw out the two coalitions that have ruled Kerala for five decades.

On a road show, whipping up support for party candidates for assembly elections under the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, he said, “The Prime Minister believes that if you inject money into the hands of big businesses, you can steer the economy. But all that happens is that big corporates gobble up all the money.”

The Congress leader said there has to be clarity and a well thought out solution to the crisis gripping the economy and how to reach relief to the downtrodden. He reiterated NYAY (Nyuntam Aaay Yojana) as a solution to the crisis gripping Kerala’s economy. “NYAY will not only help the poor, it’ll revive the economy and produce jobs. NYAY will deposit ₹6,000 every month into the bank accounts of the poorest people,” he said.

The logic, he said, is to transfer cash “to the common man, into the hands of millions and millions of people” to energize the economy. There is a need to inject money into the economy to spin off jobs,” he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister he said, “There are three new criminal agricultural laws. We have to fight against these laws.”

“The most important thing is to reclaim the idea of Wayanad. You used to be the spice capital of the world, there is no reason you should not be the spice capital of the world again,” he said.

Buffer zone, medical college and man-animal conflict are critical issues that impact the future of Wayanad. “We cannot resolve them unless we form a government in Kerala,” he said, directly addressing the need for a Congress-led government.

In Mananthavady constituency, Gandhi urged his “friends” in the Left to choose dialogue rather than physical engagement to resolve differences. “We don’t agree with the ideology of our friends of the Left, but that does not mean we should hate each other or kill each other,” he said.

BJP president JP Nadda, on the other hand said people are fed up with the two corrupt coalitions in the state and were turning to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in a big way.

“It’s time to throw them out… the scamsters and smugglers”, he said at Karunagapally in Kollam, where Congress’ star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took out a spirited road show a few days ago.

“This land is known for the cashew industry, coir and many other small scale units. But wrong policies have destroyed these sectors. One is neck deep in the solar scam and the other in gold smuggling. Both have tried to overturn the cultural and traditional aspects of the state,” Nadda said.

In Attingal and Kazhakootam (south Kerala) he took out road shows for NDA candidates. Raking up the emotional Sabarimala issue, he said party workers were in the forefront to protect age-old customs of the hill temple and they suffered a lot at the hands of the repressive regime.

“The Congress was nowhere when the agitation peaked. Now the party is saying it will protect customs,” he said. The BJP’s prospects have been rising steadily and in the last local body polls it was quite visible. He said in the last few years the party’s poll percentage grew from 5 per cent to 17 per cent and will take a big leap in the April 6 elections. This is his second visit to the state in the last two weeks.