Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party, terming them the “B-team” of the BJP. He also said that the party was copying the stance of the ruling party instead of learning from its mistakes.
Kerala Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9 and counting of votes will take place on May 4. The tenure of the current assembly ends on May 23.
Addressing a press conference in Ernakulam, the Kerala Chief Minister said, “Rahul Gandhi is a national leader, yet he does not have even the basic understanding of a common local Congress worker in Kerala; he is not at all willing to learn from his experiences or mistakes. It is difficult to understand why he is declining like this. Rahul Gandhi and his Congress are the ‘B-team’ of the BJP in the country, yet his stance is being adopted across India.”
His comments come a day after Rahul Gandhi accused Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) of “dividing people” by alleging a partnership between the Left-democratic alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Launching the United Democratic Alliance (UDF) campaign for the Kerala elections in Kozhikode, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan did not fulfill the promise of 40 lakh jobs.
Addressing the rally virtually, he said, “Actually only two parties are fighting in Kerala. One is the UDF alliance and the other is the partnership of BJP and LDF. UDF unites the people, listens to them and empowers them by adopting them. Whereas LDF and its secret ally divide and crush the people.”
He further said, “Modi ji had promised 2 crore jobs at the national level. The Kerala Chief Minister had promised 40 lakh jobs in the state, and after a decade you see that he has not given a single job to the people; rather, he has destroyed the jobs. Neither the BJP nor the LDF believe that they are accountable to the public. They do not believe that the people of Kerala should have the right to ask them questions.”