PM's visit to Kerala gives fillip to BJP in state: K Surendran

Kochi(Kerala) [India], April 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Kerala has given a fillip to the BJP in Kerala, said the party's state chief K Surendran here on Wednesday.

Prime Minister recently made a two-day visit to Kerala in which he had both official functions and a function orgsed by the state unit of the BJP. During the visit, he inaugurated a number of developmental programmes including flagging off a Vande Bharat Express train.

Talking about the prime minister's meet with Christian religious leaders of various denominations in Kerala, he claimed that the Christian leaders have a view that if they stand by the prime minister it is good for Kerala.

" There was a campaign against BJP leaders visiting Christian homes on Easter. The majority of the Christian leaders have the position that standing with the Prime Minister will be good for Kerala. They want the people of Kerala to support the development," K Surendran said at a press conference here.

"The Prime Minister took a positive approach in meeting with Christian religious leaders," he added.

'Sneha Yatra', which is the BJP's outreach to minority communities, will spread further. There will be an effort to make marginalized groups in the state support the BJP, he said.

The state BJP chief also claimed that the prime minister's visit also gave a fillip to Kerala's development.

"Modi's visit to Kerala has pushed the development of the state a big step forward. There is going to be a significant change in the developmental paradigm of Kerala after the visit," Surendran said.

Dismissing the allegation of both the Ruling LDF and the main opposition alliance UDF led by the Congress that the central government is neglecting the developmental needs of Kerala, he said: "It has been revealed that the Modi government has allocated 10 times more than the amount allocated by the UPA government for the development of railways in Kerala. The visit dispels the allegations by the LDF and right UDF that the central government is neglecting Kerala"

"The Prime Minister spoke about the speed of development of Kerala. The reason for the accusations against him is that he pointed out that Kerala is lagging behind in terms of development. The state government is unable to deliver even the most basic needs of the people," he alleged.

He challenged the state government to prove the prime minister's statement on Kerala's unemployment wrong by citing official data.

"Can the state government contradict what the Prime Minister said about unemployment in Kerala by quoting official data? We invite them to debate on all these issues," he said adding that there should be wide discussion about unemployment numbers in Kerala.