

KOCHI: BJP Kerala prabhari Prakash Javadekar rebuked the Congress-led UDF in Kerala over its silence on the rape and murder of a resident doctor in Kolkata, even as the entire country was outraged.
The former union minister, who termed the crime ‘shameful’, alleged there was a ‘jungle raj’ in West Bengal. Accusing the Congress of duplicity, Javadekar said the Congress, which was usually quick to respond to various issues, was notably quiet on the incident. He said the Left was also adopting a similar stance.
“Before the Lok Sabha elections, they (Congress) always spoke about Palestine. UDF was never condemned when a Hamas leader attended a Palestine solidarity rally via video conference. However, they do not utter a word on the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. It is selective amnesia,” he told reporters in Kochi.
On the recent elections, Javadekar said, “A deepfake video of Amit Shah created using AI falsely claimed a reservation cut-off and was widely circulated. Following that, a campaign spread false narratives about a leak in the Ram Mandir and issues with the Atal Setu Bridge. This is a politics of falsehood that cannot endure.”
Javadekar emphasised that the BJP had more ministers from the OBC category, while in the Congress, even deserving leaders struggled to receive timely promotions. He, however, did not respond to questions on the recent Blitz magazine report on Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
On the Centre’s involvement in the Mullaperiyar dam issue, he echoed BJP state president K Surendran’s stance, saying, “Rahul Gandhi and Pinarayi are part of the same alliance, so why don’t they discuss it with Stalin and the DMK?”