LDF/UDF made Kerala a 'den' of corruption: Home Minister Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took out a whistlestop tour of poll-bound Kerala attacking the ruling CPI(M-led LDF and the Congress-headed UDF, saying the two fronts had made the state a "den of corruption".

Shah addressed two poll rallies at Kanjirapally in Kottayam district and Paravur in Kollam district, besides taking out road shows at Tripunithura in Kochi and Kanjikode in Palakkad.

The LDF and UDF, which rule the state alternatively, have made Kerala a "den of corruption".

"When UDF comes, then we see scandals like solar scam and when LDF is in power, there are the dollar and Gold scams," he said.

Touching on the Sabarimala temple issue during his address at the Puttingal temple ground at Paravur, Shah said the "atrocities" committed by the LDF government against the Ayyappa devotees was "deplorable" and not seen in any other part of the country.

"The communist party is hellbent on finishing our culture and tradition...the BJP government believes that in mattersrelated to temples, the government should not interfere and let the devotees handle the issues," he said at the temple ground,where 114 people had been killed and over 300 injured on April 10, 2016 when a stray firework landed on a stockpile of crackers triggering a massive blast.

The state had witnessed violent incidents after the state government decided to implement the 2018 Supreme court verdict allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala.

Slamming Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the gold smuggling case,he alleged that the Marxist leader had links with the prime accused in the scam.

"I call upon Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Ji to answer this straight question - Did the prime accusedin the goldscam work in your office or not? "Did your government givethis accused monthly remuneration of Rs 3 lakh?" Shah asked as he kickstarted the second leg of the election campaign in the southern state.

"This is the land of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamigal and Ayyankali.Which was why the state was known as God's own country.But it has been destroyed by the LDF and the UDF who have been ruling the state alternatively,"he said.

There was a time when Kerala was the most developed state in the country,was the highest educated state and global tourists used to come to the state.

But Communist and Congress parties, who have been ruling the state alternatively, have made Kerala into a "hub of corruption", he alleged.

He urged the people to give a chance for the lotus to bloom and to allow the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to transform the state into a "new Kerala".

Kerala, known for peace and harmony, has now under the left government "turned red with the blood from the murders of scores of activists of BJP and Vichar Parivaar.

"The communists have become extinct throughout the world.Isn't it?...,he said, asking the gathering if communists are finished and Congress party is also finished in India.

The time has comewhen Keralites should vote the BJP to power,the BJP leader said.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Shah said he had not seen such a "secular" party, which has allies like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kerala, Pirzada in West Bengal, Badruddin Ajmal in Assam and in Maharashtra enjoying the fruits of power with Shiv Sena.

The Congress party and its leadership are confused, he claimed.

Targeting Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, the Union Home minister said: "Rahul baba came to Kerala on a picnic.The people should ask him how Congress is fighting Communists in Kerala and are partners in West Bengal."

Shah also wanted to know from Vijayan why no probe was ordered on the alleged attack against officials of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Customs.

If it was any other Chief Minister, he would have resigned long back,Shah said.

"Goondas from the left parties had attacked ED and customs officials.Why has the administration not done any investigation," he asked.

"Had it been any other CM he would have resigned by now.Only the communist parties aren't ashamed of corruption."

Shah pointed out when Congress was in government at both the Centreand in Kerala, thenin five years, the state received only Rs 45,395 crore, but the Narendra Modi governmentduring the past five years had allocated Rs 1,34,848 crore to the state.

The Union minister also took out a roadshow at Kanjikode in Palakkad this evening where the BJP has fielded 'Metroman' E Sreedharan as its candidate for the April 6 assembly polls.

Thousands of party workers, carrying party flags, cheered as the vehicle carrying Shah flanked by E Sreedharan and C Krishnakumar (candidate from Malampuzha) crisscrossed its way through the industrial town.