A single speech in Idukki has set off a political storm stretching all the way to Gujarat.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing a rally there, called Kerala’s people “educated and clever”. And then he compared Keralites with whom he described as “illiterate” voters in Gujarat.
His barbs were directed at both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
He said the Kerala voters are too educated to be misled. “Don’t misguide the people of Keralam. They are very clever, they are educated. Modi ji, Vijay (Pinarayi Vijayan), you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or in other places, but you can’t fool Keralam people,” he was quoted as saying.
“Narendra Modi in Delhi and Pinarayi Vijayan in Keralam have a similar style of functioning. They both want to keep power centralised in their own hands. I heard from people that Keralam’s Narendra Modi is Pinarayi Vijayan, and that the BJP and the LDF have secretly plotted to keep the Congress away from power.”
BJP national working president Nitin Nabin told a section of the media that the Congress leadership has a pattern of disrespecting people.
“Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leaders have a character of disrespecting others. Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi come from the same Gujarat… You are disrespecting the son of Gujarat who made his place in the entire country and across the globe. The states in which you didn’t get into power, you called them illiterate. This shows your petty mindset and character… Mallikarjun ji, keep giving such statements, and the public will keep punishing you,” Nabin was quoted as saying.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi went a step further. Did Kharge think Gandhi and Patel, both sons of Gujarat, were not intelligent enough either, he asked. The Congress, he said, was using a familiar trick of dividing the country.
The row erupts with Kerala heading to the polls on April 9, 2025. The two parties are already in a bruising fight for the state. This exchange has only turned the heat up.
The timing is not lost on anyone. Kerala votes on April 9, 2025. Both parties are fighting hard for every inch of ground. Words, it seems, are now weapons too.
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