Deal with political killings first: Maharashtra CM Fadnavis to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
KOCHI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took a dig at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying he should focus more on dealing with the political killings in Kerala rather than rallying against cattle trade ban.
Fadnavis was in Kochi to take part in the BJP’s campaign being undertaken as part of the third anniversary of the NDA government at the Centre. He also elaborated on the projects initiated by the Union Government in Kerala.
Terming the political murders in Kerala as a grave issue, he claimed as many as 17 political murders were reported in the state recently. “When you kill political opponents having different political ideology, you are failing the democracy,” he said.
On the simmering protests in Kerala over the ‘cattle trade ban’, Fadnavis said the BJP had no intention to interfere in the food habits of the people. “But, prohibition of cow slaughter is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution. Productivity has been affected in places where the cow population has decreased,” he said. Fadnavis elaborated he used the term productivity to explain cow dung is a manure essential for enriching the fertility of land.
Farmers’ agitation
Fadnavis held the previous Maharashtra government responsible for the farmers’ agitation in the state. “We are in discussion with farmers. The issue will be resolved without delay,” he said. Terming the death of farmers in Madhya Pradesh as an unfortunate incident, Fadnavis said the prices of crops are not decided by the government, but the global market.
“Over the past few years, the agricultural sector in Madhya Pradesh has been recording a growth rate of 20 per cent,” he said.
Fadnavis also visited the SC/ST colony at Irapuram near Perumbavoor. He later addressed children and youths in Kochi before returning to Mumbai in the evening.