THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mounting a strong offensive on Rahul Gandhi whose criticism against the state government had ruffled feathers in the Left fold, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the Wayanad MP should apologise to the farmers as it was his party’s policies that brought disaster to the farming community.
Pinarayi said the Congress’ anti-farmer policies caused hardships to the farmers forcing thousands of them to commit suicide. “Blood of lakhs of farmers is on Congress’ hands. For this crime, Rahul should apologise to farmers’ families,” he demanded. Rahul, during the conclusion of Aishwarya Kerala Yatra, had criticised the LDF government on various issues, including the alleged bid to hamper the livelihood of fisher families.
Pinarayi said the Congress’ neo-liberal policies led to the suicide of about three lakh farmers. He took a jibe at Rahul saying, “For driving tractors for farmers and swimming in the sea for fishermen, he should be thanked for his concern for Kerala. He avoided the Delhi protests completely and came to Kerala to proclaim his support for farmers. This broad-mindedness is laudable,” he added.
Yogi countered
The CM took strong exception to the comments by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Kasaragod recently. Pinarayi brushed aside the allegation that Kerala was a hotbed of corruption and anarchy, and said NCRB reports and Corruption Survey pointed otherwise. “About 15 per cent of guest labourers in the state are from Uttar Pradesh. They can say better about the conditions in Kerala,” he said.