Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal. File
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) lashed out at BJP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a “mini-Pakistan”and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately sack Mr. Rane for the “shameful” remarks.
In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal said the remarks show their [party’s] “deep-rooted animosity” for people of the southern State.
“From time to time, the BJP deploys its hatemongers to spew venom against Kerala. Using terms like ‘mini Pakistan’ shows they have deep-rooted animosity for the people of Kerala,” Mr. Venugopal wrote.
‘Model State’
The Congress leader said Kerala had been a model State to the entire world, one that had consistently topped the human development indices, especially on education, healthcare and overall standard of living.
“Since millennia, Kerala has been a beacon of communal harmony and brotherhood among all religions and sects. To use abusive language for the land of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamikal and Mahatma Ayyankali, who advocated for egalitarianism, inclusivity and social justice, shows the BJP’s disregard for its own fellow citizens. If PM Modi has any shame about Mr. Rane’s statements, he should sack him immediately,” Mr. Venugopal said.
He added that the people of Kerala “have rejected, and will never accept the BJP for this very reason – it does not understand the beauty of its harmonious living”.
The Maharashtra Minister sparked a major controversy by calling Kerala a “mini-Pakistan”. Speaking at a rally in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, he also stated that “all terrorists vote for Gandhis”, a reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and subsequently his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, winning the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.
Published – December 31, 2024 08:17 pm IST
