Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan has said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, MP, is a tourist in his constituency, Wayanad.
Inaugurating the new district office of the BJP here on Thursday, Mr. Muraleedharan said Rahul’s similar practice in Amethi helped Smriti Irani defeat him in the last elections with a huge margin.
‘Now, he is trying to create a favourable atmosphere for his sister Priyanka in Uttar Pradesh on behalf of farmers’ agitation,” Mr. Muraleedharan said adding: “The tragic incident involving farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri should be flayed. But the demand of the Congress party for the resignation of a Union Minister, that too even before the investigation is over, cannot be justified, Mr. Muraleedharan said.
Though the State government had announced minimum support price for 16 crops, including coffee, two years ago, farmers are yet to avail of it. Now, All India Kisan Sabha leader P. Krishna Prasad is leading an agitation against the Mandi system, which is yet to be executed in the State, he said.
The Centre had granted ₹74.84 crore to the State during 2014-2021 to mitigate man-animal conflict, but, the Kerala government has spent only ₹40.05 crore from the grant so far, he said. Had the fund been utilised properly the issue could have been sorted out to a certain extent.
The Centre also allocated ₹85.99 crore to the State for the development of the dairy sector, but the latter spent only ₹60.54 crore.
The LDF and the UDF are trying to sabotage development projects initiated by the NDA government, to contain the growth of the BJP in the State, he said.
