Thiruvananthapuram | The Congress in Kerala on Thursday said it would be organising a massive conference to counter the BJP's outreach programmes, targeting the youth and religious minorities in the State, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and MP K Sudhakaran said that the party's conference, to be attended by Rahul Gandhi, would be held in May and it can be seen as a reply to the PM's visit and the alleged anti-youth and anti-farmer stand of the BJP-ruled Centre.
Modi is scheduled to attend several programmes, including Yuvam 2023 in Kochi on April 24, during his two-day visit to Kerala.
According to BJP's Kerala state president K Surendran, Yuvam would be a game changer in Kerala politics. It is a coming together of the youth for the development of the State and is beyond any party politics, he said in a social media post.
He said that it was an indication of the enthusiasm of the youth for accepting Modi and that is why both the left and right fronts were disturbed by it.
Surendran said the questions that would be raised in Yuvam 2023 would deal with the huge unemployment and alleged collapse of the higher education sector.
Sudhakaran, speaking to reporters after a political affairs committee meeting of the party, said that the KPCC would also be launching a campaign to reveal before the public the "real face" of the BJP, RSS and the Sangh Parivar.
As part of the campaign, the alleged attacks by the RSS, Sangh Parivar and BJP on the minority religious groups and communities would be "exposed" before everyone. The large-scale campaign would be kicked off in a couple of months after all the required material for it is gathered by a committee constituted for the purpose, the KPCC chief said.
Sudhakaran also contended that the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the BJP were working together against the Congress and have the same stand on various important issues, including the issue of unemployment among the youth who, he claimed, were leaving the country in droves in search of jobs abroad.
He alleged that the CPI(M)-BJP alliance was evident from the fact that no central probe agency has questioned Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan yet, despite the various allegations against him, and even the SNC-Lavalin graft case in the Supreme Court is being adjourned repeatedly.
However, various other leaders, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, of parties opposing the BJP are being targeted by central agencies, the KPCC chief alleged.
Vijayan is facing allegations of corruption in connection with awarding a contract to Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin when he was the power minister in 1996 and causing a loss to the state exchequer.
A special court in Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala High Court have discharged Vijayan in the case and the CBI moved an appeal in the Supreme Court against that. The apex court stayed the trial in that case.
There will also be a Chintan Shivir 2.0 in May at Charalkunnu in Pathanamthitta district of the state "for a brainstorming session", Sudhakaran said. It would be attended by national leaders of Congress, he added.
