Thiruvananthapuram, April 5 (IANS) Congress MP Kumari Selja on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for attempting to “communalise” people. She called the BJP-led Central government as the “government of slogans”. The Congress leader also highlighted the issues of fishermen in Kerala and the issue of human-animal conflict.
Selja was in Kochi to campaign for the April 9 Assembly polls in Kerala.
Accusing the BJP, she told IANS, “The BJP always tries to communalise. That is their hallmark. If they were so good at development, why can’t they talk about that? What have they got to show for it?
She alleged that the BJP comes up with a new slogan and forgets the old one. “It is only a government of slogans and these kinds of speeches. There is nothing beyond that,” she said.
Moreover, Selja also accused the BJP of giving money to voters. She said, “Come to the North (of India), you will know the truth, how they communalise, how they get votes, how they give money before elections.”
The Congress MP said that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi “is talking about real development.”
She said that LoP Gandhi has great love for Kerala since the state has sent him and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the Parliament.
Kumari Selja, during the interaction with IANS, flagged human-animal conflict and problems faced by fishermen as issues that, according to her, will be vital for the upcoming elections.
She said, “There are natural issues, natural disasters, and climate change. When we talk about animal-human conflict, there are elephants, snake bites, and people are losing their lives. Villagers on the fringes of forests often get overrun by elephants, leading to deaths. For example, near the border of Kochi, Indiramma died.”
“These conflicts are ongoing, but how the government addresses them is crucial,” she said.
She asserted that the government’s role is to mitigate these problems for the common man.
“The Left Democratic Front (LDF) (in Kerala) has not been able to do it,” Selja alleged.
While highlighting that fishermen depend on the sea for their livelihood and contribute billions to the exchequer from the seafood industry, Selja questioned what the Centre, as well as the state LDF government, have done to help the fishermen of Kerala.
“Government of India must take a hard look at that (fishermen),” she urged.
Moreover, Selja alleged that fishermen, Scheduled Class (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are not prioritised.
Bringing to notice the living conditions of women in the seafood industry, she said that while roads are equally important in Kerala, one should also think about “these women”.
The Congress leader emphasised that in the name of macro, one cannot forget the micro, which is the last human being. “Individual development must go hand in hand with infrastructural development,” she underlined.
Selja seemed confident of the party’s victory in Kerala while mentioning that Congress and UDF (United Democratic Front) have always believed in development with a human face.
“Today the human face has disappeared, whether it is the BJP government at the Centre or the LDF government in the state,” she said.
–IANS
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