Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala Thursday slammed the ruling CPI(M) and the BJP in equal measure over the latter’s ‘Jan Raksha Yatra’ in the state. He accused the state government led by Pinarayi Vijayan of making lavish arrangements for the visit of BJP president Amit Shah, who led a padyatra against “violence perpetrated by CPM on RSS-BJP cadres”.

“Is Amit Shah the president or the PM of the country? He is simply an MP. I heard that for his visit, an entire road in Payyannur was tarred. I wish Amit Shah had travelled through my constituency, the roads would have been tarred similarly there,” said Chennithala at Thrissur where he inaugurated the Congress’ day-long protest against the CPM-ruled state and BJP-led Centre.

“A holiday was announced for schools in the area. A bus station in Payyanur was vacated for Amit Shah’s speech. Even though he has Z+ security, hundreds of policemen were stationed for his security. Where is the earnestness of the CPM to fight against the BJP?” asked Chennithala as he targeted the state government. The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly did not fail to take potshots at the BJP president either.

“The only good thing to come out of this yatra could be Amit Shah reducing his weight. Nothing else will happen in Kerala,” said Chennithala to applause from Congress workers.

“Amit Shah should remember this is Kerala, not Gujarat. If he tries to foment violence here, the people of the state will stand together to fight against him,” he added. The former home minister pleaded for an end to the violence between CPM and RSS-BJP workers in the state in order for peace to return to the state.

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“They are competing against each other to hide their respective failures in governance,” he said.

Shah has cut short his Kerala visit and returned to New Delhi. He was scheduled to lead the BJP’s roadshow through Pinarayi, the home of CM Vijayan.

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