Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that the lack of progress in the corruption cases filed against Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the best proof of collusion between the CPI(M) and the BJP in the state.
Gandhi made the claim while addressing a massive election rally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kozhikode via video-conferencing. Though Gandhi was slated to visit Kozhikode on Wednesday, he skipped the trip after his mother Sonia Gandhi was hospitalised in Delhi. AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge flew down to Kerala in Gandhi’s absence.
Launching a parallel attack on the CPI(M) and the BJP, Gandhi said that anyone who opposes BJP is attacked with false cases being foisted on them.
“I have 40 cases filed against me. I have been interrogated five days in a row by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). And the BJP attacks me every second of every day. I want to ask the people: why does the BJP not attack the Kerala chief minister? Why are corruption cases against the CM not going anywhere? This is the best proof of collusion between the BJP and LDF,” Gandhi claimed.
The Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha said that there are only two coalitions fighting in Kerala – the Congress-led UDF and the partnership between the BJP and CPI(M).
“The UDF unites people, listens to them, embraces and empowers them. The LDF and their hidden partner BJP divide people and crush their dreams,” he said.
“Modiji promises two crore jobs at the national level. Your CM promised 40 lakh jobs at the state level. Even after a decade, you find that they have not given a single job to anyone. In fact, they have crushed their dreams. Neither the BJP nor LDF leaders believe they are answerable to the people,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi, a former MP from Wayanad in Kerala, mounted an attack on the Vijayan-led LDF government, alleging that one in three young Keralites are unemployed due to the wrong policies of the LDF. He said that backdoor appointments are the order of the day and that a red carpet awaits anyone who personally knows the chief minister or LDF leaders.
“Merit does not matter if you know the leaders of the LDF. You may be a PSC rank-holder, but you will not get a job. Instead of making Kerala number 1 in technology or employment, they have made the state number 1 in drug cases,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Kharge on Wednesday gave the clarion call for the UDF’s campaign for the 2026 Kerala assembly elections, saying that the people demand a change in governance. Kharge also criticised the LDF over the handling of the Sabarimala gold theft case.
“The LDF government did not even spare God. They stole gold from the Sabarimala temple. What can one expect from such a government and such a party?” he said.