Thiruvananthapuram: Rain and thunder could not stop the tremendous crowd that thronged the Central Stadium in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city. They waited with bated breath for hours to get a glimpse of their Prime Minister and to hear his mesmerizing words laden with hope.
Narendra Modi did not disappoint the crowds. He began with a few lines in Malayalam seeking the blessings of Padhmanabhaswami, the presiding deity of Travancore. He extolled the spiritual gurus and erstwhile Kings of the land who have led Kerala to spiritual and social emancipation.
The Prime Minister continued his speech saying that the NDA government will do everything in its power to safeguard the beliefs and rituals of the people. He promised that his government will fight to protect the beliefs in court and in Parliament.
He said that his government will seek constitutional measures to safeguard people’s beliefs. He added that he will not let anyone destroy the beliefs of the people.
He continued that in Kerala devotees cannot even utter the name of their God.
He attacked CPI(M) and Congress for following opportunistic politics. In Delhi they are supporting each other and in Kerala both the fronts are fighting against each other.
Modi attacked Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad. The Prime Minister said that if Rahul wanted to send a message to South India, he could have contested from Thiruvananthapuram or from any other constituency. He asked why the Gandhi scion went to Wayanad.
He then said that Rahul Gandhi chose Wayanad because the Congress is following appeasement politics. Wayanad is a constituency with a large number of voters belonging to the minority community.
The Prime Minister reminded the people of the success his government has made in defence and said that the nation is now completely protected from threats from space, air, land, and water. He said that the nation would have achieved these fetes earlier if the Congress supported the scientists and the defence forces.
He also accused the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Viayan, of corruption referring to SNC Lavlin case. He also said that during the Kerala floods, the communist leaders were in the forefront to steal the charity materials sent to the affected persons.
He said that his government has formulated policies to help fisher community, who came forward to help those in need during the devastating floods last year.
Narendra Modi arrived in Thiruvananthapuram amid tight security. He arrived on a special plane to attend the NDA’s public meeting in the city. NDA candidates Kummanam Rajasekharan and Sobha Surendran were present during the meeting.
Kerala will go to the polls on 23 April.
