Salient points of speech : Hon'ble BJP National President Shri J.P. Nadda while addressing NDA protest rally in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)

Senior BJP Leader & Hon'ble Union Minister Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Kochi (Kerala) and met the Kalamassery bomb blast victims who are undergoing treatment at the Government Cooperative Hospital

“When the BJP draws attention to terrorism, radicalisation, protection of our youth from radicalisation, then we are accused of being communal”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

**************

“When an organization like Hamas is allowed to preach hatred and Jihad in Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan considers it as free speech”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

**************

“The I.N.D.I alliance which is a new name for UPA uses charges of communalism as a cover for their ineptness, corruption & appeasement”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

**************

“If the Home Minister can't protect the public, He must find a competent new Home Minister and then the CM may continue doing full-time politics in Delhi & of I.N.D.I Alliance”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

**************

Following His Visit with Kerala Blast Victims, Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar Accuses CM Pinarayi Vijayan of Ignoring Rising Radicalization in the State

**************

Kochi, 30 October 2023: Today, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, visited the Government Co-operative Medical College situated in the Kalamassery district of Kochi, where he met with the victims and their families of the bomb blast that occurred on Sunday.

The Minister also visited the blast site in Kochi, where a prayer gathering had convened at the time of the incident. Among the casualties were a 12-year-old child and two women.

“The victims who are receiving treatment at the hospital are in a critical condition. I hope they will recover soon. It is certainly a very difficult time for the families of those who lost their loved ones. I also visited the blast site where the NSG, NIA and the Kerala Police are present. The investigations are underway and we look forward to the results of the investigation,” Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said today.

The Minister also raised important questions regarding the state of law and order in Kerala. He clarified that his comments about Kerala's law and order on Sunday were in the context of the virtual address by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal. He also responded to the accusations made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had accused central ministers and the BJP of communalizing the issue.

“Our party has always stated — under CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala has shown an increasing tolerance for radical elements and radicalization. Whether it was the June 2023, in Kozhikode, which was an attempt to burn a train, if the person had succeeded, over 200-300 deaths would have occurred. And the characterization of the person, initially, he was described as mentally ill until it was revealed that he was an ISIS sympathizer, Zakir Naik inspired terrorist, and his actions were a deliberate attempt at terrorism. This is a historical fact. What I meant to say is that there is a history of appeasement by both the Congress and the Left in Kerala that has led to radicalism. I mentioned this in the context of the Hamas Chief being allowed to address a large gathering of youth without intervention from the Government of Kerala or the Kerala police, inciting them with radicalism,” the Minister explained.

He further highlighted how the Congress and the CPM had always turned a blind eye to the ongoing radicalism taking place in the state.

The Minister stated, “In the backdrop of the growing radicalization in Kerala, turning a blind eye to the radicalism approach of both Congress and the Left — I want to draw your attention to the history of appeasement that causes radicalism and what the CM Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM have done in the wake of this attack. Instead of dealing with the issue of allowing a virtual address by Hamas leader, they say we are communal. When we draw attention to terrorism, when we draw attention to radicalisation, when we draw attention to protection of our youths from radicalisation then we are accused of being communal.”

The Minister pointed out that in the past, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had curtailed journalists' freedom of speech by imprisoning them for exercising their fundamental right under Article 19 of the constitution. However, when it came to the virtual address by the Hamas leader, the state government turned a blind eye.

“When an organization like Hamas is allowed to preach hatred and Jihad in Kerala it is free speech for the CM of Kerala — he is the hero. The Govt of Kerala will not do anything. The same CM will not hesitate to put a journalist behind bars when that journalist is exercising his right under article 19 of the constitution. 2016 onwards there have been repeated examples of people who have been radicalized in Kerala going and joining the ISIS, joining Taliban, going to Syria & Afghanistan. When we point out that we must do more, we must prevent our children from being radicalized – We are communa andl CM Pinarayi Viajyan is a hero. To point out terrorism, terror links are not communalism but a duty of every citizen in this country,” the Minister further added.

The Minister also emphasized his confidence in all the investigative agencies and the Kerala Police. However, he expressed concern that the state police might be subject to manipulation by the political leadership of Kerala.

“There is a confession by a gentleman Dominic Martin who confessed to this crime and for some people for the Congress and the Left it is almost like a celebration, you see their tweets and you see their messages, we are not in a competition to blame anybody, we are here today as a responsible political organization who is committed to making sure that India is safe for all Indians and we want this to be a collective fight against radicalism,” the Minister said.

Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar went on to criticize the I.N.D.I alliance and the CPM for deploying charges of communalism as a shield for their incompetence, corruption, and appeasement.

“The I.N.D.I alliance which is a new name for UPA today uses communalism as a cover for their ineptness, corruption or appeasement, I have the greatest faith in the professionals of Kerala police, in NIA but I don't have faith in the political leadership of Kerala who are manipulating the Kerala police. If the Home Minister is unable to protect the people he should find somebody who is competent enough to be the Home minister, he can do full time politics in Delhi, he can do full time politics of the I.N.D.I alliance,” the Minister further added.

****************