'Rahul Gandhi will drown Wayanad, his track record not good': Rajnath Singh

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi at his diving skills without naming the Congress leader and said he will bring down Wayanad in the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala just like Amethi, his former parliamentary seat. "There is a young leader of the Congress who has recently visited Kerala. He was taking a dive along with a fisherman in Kollam. I want to say that his track record is not good. Wherever he goes he drowns himself and with him others too," Singh said while addressing a poll rally in Thrissur.

Singh was referring to Gandhi’s tour in Kerala's Kollam last month when dived into the sea with local fishermen and swam for 10 minutes with two others before returning to the boat. He also interacted with the thousands of fisherfolk, including women, who had gathered at the Thangassery beach in the southern coastal district and said he admired and respected their work.

"He drowned Amethi and now have now come to Wayanad to do the same. He says he will make a dedicated ministry for fisherman. I am amazed at how ignorant he is. In 2019, we have already created a department dedicated to the welfare of fishermen communities,” Singh also said.

The senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Kerala has an important place in India when it comes to art, culture and tourism, adding that it is also a very significant state in terms of politics. "Even though in terms of area Kerala is considered as a small state but its political voice churning is heard and felt clearly in Delhi," he added.

Coming down heavily on the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF), Singh asked the reason behind Kerala’s backwardness in spite of being the first state with 100 per cent literacy. "When the entire country is redefining the aspiration and development trajectory why is Kerala lagging behind in literacy?” he asked. "In spite of Kerala having everything, there is a lot missing here. It is because even after seven decades of Independence, Kerala has not been able to come out of the clutches of LDF-UDF," he said.

Singh claimed that in the last seven years, the BJP has strengthened the presence of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and has created an alternative for Kerala. The defence minister said if the BJP comes to power in Kerala, it will provide employment to at least one member of each household. "We will bring a law to safeguard the tradition and practices of Sabarimala in Kerala," he said.

Singh's roadshow in poll-bound Kerala's Ernakulam was cancelled earlier in the day as his aircraft could not land due to bad weather.

The Congress is fighting the Kerala Assembly Election 2021 in alliance with the UDF. The election for the 140-member Kerala assembly will be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.