Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi, Kerala CM Vijayan one and the same, says Congress

Hitting hard at CM Vijayan, Satheesan said that for the past one month, he had been constantly criticising the Congress and senior leader Rahul Gandhi without uttering a word against Modi

The political ripples created by the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are yet to die down in Kerala, with the Congress on Wednesday alleging that the BJP leader and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were trying to convince people that they were not similar.

But the people of the state are well aware that they are one and the same, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, told reporters here in Panur near Kannur.

Hitting hard at CM Vijayan, the leader said that for the past one month, he had been constantly criticising the Congress and senior leader Rahul Gandhi without uttering a word against Modi.

Satheesan alleged that the CM was humble and careful even while replying to Modi's allegations against the state government during his recent election rallies in Kerala.

"Both the PM and the CM are now speaking to convince the people that they are not the same. But the people of the state know very well that they are one and the same," he said.

Vijayan is trying to please the BJP by making allegations against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, Satheesan alleged. The LoP claimed that there is a wave in favour of the Congress and the UDF in the state and in favour of the INDIA bloc at the national level.
 

He further said the CPI (M) and the BJP won't win even a single seat in Kerala and exuded confidence that the UDF could win all 20 Lok Sabha segments in the state.

Satheesan's statements came in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at two election rallies in Kerala on Monday and the replies given by CM Vijayan to the allegations he raised against the CPI (M)-led LDF government. On Tuesday, Vijayan countered all the charges raised by the PM and urged him to self-introspect about the development index of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

He further said that while levelling intense allegations against Kerala, the PM should look into the accolades the state had been given by the union government led by him.

Vijayan, who has come under fire from the opposition Congress for not targeting Modi, had referred to the PM several times during the press conference and attacked him over his charges against the state government.