Alappuzha: Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, on Wednesday said that raising the Sabarimala issue during the election campaign was not a violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
“The BJP will raise the issue during the campaigns to protect the faith and tradition of Keralites,” he told DC on the sidelines of an election rally of NDA candidate Dr. K.S. Radhakrishnan held at Kayamkulam town.
“Not at all,” Goyal said when asked whether raising the Sabarimala issue for the polls would be a violation of the Act. Referring to the CPM’s petition against the BJP to the Election Commission on the use of Sabarimala in the campaign, he said that they would respect the model code of conduct, but added that Sabarimala is a matter of faith.
Responding to Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s friendly attitude to the Left parties, he said the Congress and the CPM were irrelevant and had lost the confidence of the people. “The people of Wayanad will realise the political downturn of both the Congress and Left. Rahul Gandhi ran away from Amethi because of the fear of defeat. I am sure the people of Wayanad will defeat him so that in the next election he will have to look for a constituency in some other country,” he said.
“The people of Kerala don’t want second hand material. They will defeat dynasty politics. Both the Congress and communists stand for corruption. Once they go for an alliance they will break up. Now they both stand confused. Several scams are coming out. But Modi is the only Chowkidar (guard) in the country and he will protect us,” he said.
Inaugurating the rally, he said that the Congress and Communists were playing a dangerous game on faith. “ The NDA will ensure constitutional guarantee for people’s faith. Kerala is the land of peace. But Congress and Communists create violence and bloodshed. They have a common agenda that to destroy Kerala,” he said.
The Modi government had passed triple talaq Bill so that no Muslim woman will be left helpless. “We want a better future for the country but Congress and CPM don’t want development. Kollam bypass was made a reality by the Modi government. So they will bypass the Congress and CPM in the elections. In Tripura Communists ruled for 30-35 years but no development took place for several decades. Finally, the people of Tripura decided to defeat the CPM. The same happened in West Bengal where the BJP will win more seats,” he said.
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