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Journalism of Courage
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the Left and Congress of “joining hands to loot Kerala” and predicting a BJP-led coalition coming to power in the state, the party is set to launch an aggressive campaign in the state to expand its base by reaching out to minority communities.
With April being a month of festivals for all three communities in the state, the BJP has planned a special outreach programme. The party plans to reach out to one lakh Christian families on the occasion of Easter (April 9), connect with Hindu families on Vishu (April 15), and Muslim households on Eid (likely to be held in the last week of April).
As the state of affairs in the Kerala BJP is perceived to be “disappointing”, the party leadership has been pushing the state unit to come up with a fresh exercise to reach out to various communities, especially Christians as their response has been “encouraging”, said a party leader. Last Saturday, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church said it would support the BJP if the Central government takes steps to improve the condition of rubber cultivators. The Church represents a dominant segment of Christians in the state.
BJP’s Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar has been holding meetings with eminent personalities from both Christian and Muslim communities in the state. Both Javadekar and co-in-charge Radha Mohan, a Rajya Sabha MP, have been visiting Kerala frequently to hold consultations with state leaders at various levels to take stock of the preparedness ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Party leaders said it was Prime Minister Modi who suggested that the party has to reach out to new communities and specifically mentioned that the BJP should change its approach towards the Christian community in Kerala, and the party is willing to explore the possibilities for working with the community.
Meanwhile, the BJP is trying to keep up the pressure on the Left and the Congress, the two most prominent parties in Kerala.
On Wednesday, addressing the media at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Javadekar alleged that corruption involving the relatives of the Left and Congress functionaries in Kerala led to the landfill fire fiasco in Kochi. The waste at the dumping yard caught fire on March 2 and kept smouldering for the next 12 days, leaving a blanket of toxic haze over the commercial capital of Kerala.
Javadekar alleged the involvement of the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, besides the sons-in-law of a former Left Democratic Front (LDF) leader and a Congress leader in the “monumental” corruption which led to the crisis. “There are three sons-in-law, two companies and a big scam. The LDF and the UDF have come together in looting Kerala,” he said, alleging that the companies assigned to deal with waste management in the city are linked to the kin of politicians.
“I am directly saying that the chief minister has taken an interest,” Javadekar said. Flanked by Union minister V Muraleedharan and former Union minister K J Alphons, Javadekar demanded there should be a CBI probe into the issue.
