KOCHI: Launching a broadside at both the UDF and LDF, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said the NDA was hopeful of winning all the Assembly seats it is contesting in the State.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme organised at the Ernakulam Press Club here on Monday, he alleged that both the Fronts had been accusing each other for the problems being faced by the State.
“The BJP should be the right party to rule Kerala. The LDF and UDF have been blaming each other for the State’s ruin. Hence, a chance should be given to a party that has not formed government in the State so far. In West Bengal, the Congress and the Communists have embraced each other to form government. Why should they form such an alliance if both are incompetent according to the other?” he asked. Terming the Assembly polls a ‘survival battle,’ the BJP leader said, “for the Communists, it is a battle for the survival of their ideology. For the Congress, it is a battle for survival, because the party has become virtually marginalilsed across the country. There is no sign of revival for the party anywhere in the country,” he pointed out.
“We have clear a strategy for Kerala. The State makes all of us proud with the high score of its Human Development Index; low infant mortality rate and high literacy rate. Despite all these positive aspects, Kerala remains backward,” said Prabhu, and claimed that the Railways had increased the outlay for Kerala in the last two years. “No other government has ever extended such support to the State. Even during the regime of the UPA-I, which was supported by the Communists, the State did not get anything. The amount allocated for the State’s Railway development in the past two years is the highest by any government,” he claimed.
However, Kerala’s long-pending demand for a Special Railway Zone came as a new knowledge for the Railway Minister, who came to know about it only when mediapersons asked questions about it.
“It is a very good suggestion, which I will keep in my mind. Since no action was taken by the previous Railway Minsters on your demand, it should definitely be considered as Kerala is an important part of the country. While Kerala is the tail end of India For the Communists and the Congress, we feel it is the beginning of India,” added Prabhu.
The BJP should be the right party to rule Kerala. The LDF and UDF have been blaming each other for the State’s ruin. Hence, a chance should be given to a party that has not formed government in the State so far.
Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister