'Winds of change blowing in Kerala': Kharge predicts UDF sweep

Idukki (Kerala), April 5 (IANS) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday that winds of change are blowing in Kerala and the Congress-led United Democratic Front is sure to form the government after the April 9 elections. 

“Change is coming. You be ready, and if you all support, definitely Congress will come… 100 per cent this time”, he said, adding: “Today, after our strong victory in local body elections across Idukki, it is clear the people are shifting towards the UDF.”

Addressing an election meeting here, Kharge predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not a single Assembly seat, saying the people of Kerala are aware and educated enough to understand the BJP’s communal and divisive designs.

The Congress president alleged a hidden pact between the ruling Left Democratic Front and the BJP and said that they are two sides of the same coin.

He said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is following the path of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said Kerala has always been a beacon of progressive thinking, social justice and education, but during the last 10 years under the Left Democratic Front rule, the state had slipped from the path of progress.

Kharge said the state debt has touched Rs 6 lakh crore, while the unemployment rate reached 30 per cent, the highest in the country. The youth, he said, were being forced to move to different places in search of jobs.

He alleged that the LDF government is plagued by corruption scandals ranging from gold smuggling to scams in infrastructure development, the Sabarimala gold theft case and the Cochin Minerals financial deal.

He said farmers, fishermen, small traders and many others feel abandoned. “Welfare schemes are either delayed or poorly implemented”, he noted, adding that “rising debt, visionless governance and shrinking opportunities have pushed the state into uncertainty and hopelessness”.

Referring to the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, Kharge said PM Modi’s intention is not reform but to target Christian institutions that have served the nation in education, healthcare and charity for decades.

He added that it is also directed at civil society, NGOs and people who are working for the poor.

Calling it selective targeting, he said any attempt to weaken minority institutions is an insult to the Constitution.

He asserted that the Congress party would stand like a wall against any such injustice.

Referring to the plight of tea and cardamom workers, he said they were suffering as tea planters were shutting down their businesses in the area.

He asked what had happened to the financial support that the LDF government had promised to tea planters.

He added that because of new exploitative labour laws, the workers were not receiving adequate facilities from the garden owners.

Referring to thousands of families in the area still not having land titles for the land they have lived on for generations, he said the Congress would simplify laws and ensure every deserving family receives its ‘pattayam’.

Kharge also announced five “Indira Guarantees” for the people of Kerala, saying the United Democratic Front would offer a clear, people-centric alternative.

He said that welfare pensions would be raised to Rs 3,000 per month. The UDF government would also provide a Rs 25 lakh health insurance scheme for every family in the name of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

He also promised free bus travel for women across the state. Besides, college and university-going girls would receive Rs 1,000 monthly cash assistance.

He also announced that a dedicated ministry would be set up for the welfare of the elderly.

The Kerala Assembly election for picking a 140 members are scheduled to be held on April 9 and the result will be declared on May 4.

--IANS

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