Rahul Gandhi Scoffs At PM Modi's "Kerala Dear To Me" Remark

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that Kerala was as dear to him as Varanasi, wondering how he could say such a thing when the BJP-led centre has made a practice of meting out "stepmotherly treatment" to non-NDA states.

"The Prime Minister treats BJP-ruled states and non-BJP states differently. I know he will never prioritise Kerala the way he prioritises Uttar Pradesh because the CPI(M) is ruling here," news agency PTI quoted Rahul Gandhi as telling a gathering at Engapuzha, a tiny town in Kozhikode that forms part of the Wayanad seat. The event was held as part of his third and final day of his thanksgiving visit to the constituency, from where he was elected to the Lok Sabha in the recent general elections.

The reference was to a speech delivered by PM Modi at Guruvayur in Kerala on Saturday, wherein he underlined the importance of ensuring complete impartiality in governance. "Many people must be wondering why Modi came to Kerala to give a speech when the BJP didn't even open its account in Kerala in the recently held Lok Sabha election... But I don't differentiate between my countrymen... For me, the people of Kerala are as dear as the people of Varanasi (his home constituency)," the Prime Minister, who led the BJP to a massive victory against the Congress-led opposition, had said.

PM Modi also claimed that the BJP has its sights set on goals higher than electoral success, and was intent on ensuring pride of place for India on the international arena.

The Congress chief, however, maintained that he "wasn't expecting any cooperation" from PM Modi or the BJP-led centre as far as development of Wayanad and Kerala was concerned. He claimed that even if the Congress and Left parties manage to put their ideological differences aside to work towards developing the southern state, no such expectation can be made from the BJP.

"That's because they are blinded by hatred and anger. They believe that if you do not follow the ideology of the RSS, you are not Indian. We will fight that," PTI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.

Hundreds of local residents and party workers had swarmed into the streets to greet the Congress chief during a roadshow held at Engapuzha earlier today. Rahul Gandhi, who has decided to quit his position in the wake of his party's poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections, was expected to take out another roadshow at neighbouring Mukkam before leaving for New Delhi this evening.

Rahul Gandhi had won Wayanad by a margin of 4.31 lakh votes over his nearest rival, PP Suneer of the CPI. Kerala was the only state where the Congress-led United Democratic Front managed a near-clean sweep, winning 19 of the 20 seats that went to the polls.

(With inputs from PTI)