Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, told members of the Kerala state unit that the political climate in the country was favourable to the BJP and they should work together to take advantage of the climate.
Addressing party workers on Wednesday evening here, he called on them to exploit the socio-political situation in Kerala. Urging a fight against corruption, Mr Modi said though the BJP does not have representation in the Kerala Assembly, the potential of the Right to Information Act should be used to fight corruption and claiming the rights of the downtrodden.
Mr Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, left for Kollam on Thursday morning to participate in the 60th birthday celebrations of Mata Amritanandamayi. Earlier, he visited the Padmanabha Swamy temple and called on the Travancore Royal family at the Kaudiar Palace.
Speaking to party workers, Mr Modi said the youth were angry about corruption and the potential of social media should be used for the election campaign. He claimed that 72 per cent of new jobs were now being created in Gujarat. Setting out the Gujarat government’s plans to set up a ‘statue of unity’ sculpture of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, he said farmers should contribute iron from their used implements for the statue.
State BJP leaders told Mr. Modi, that the party could win in Kerala if community organisations such as the NSS and the SNDP extended support.
Mr. Modi suggested that leaders should come up from Kerala to the national level so that issues of concern to the State could be raised at the national level. BJP national leaders Ram Lal and Bandaru Dattatreya, State president V. Muraleedharan, O. Rajagopal, P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, P. K. Krishnadas, K. Surendran and other leaders attended.
Earlier, he presented Rs. 5 lakh from the BJP’s central funds to the family of Indo-Tibetan Border Police constable P. G. Jomon who was killed during rescue operations in Uttarakhand.
