PM Modi woos ‘Kerala’ with Rs 11,000-crore projects

Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inked projects worth nearly Rs 11,000 crore in Kerala besides officially launching the NDA campaign during his visit to the state.He laid the foundation stone of a polypropylene unit worth over Rs 5,500 crore at BPCL’s Kochi refinery, launched two major road projects costing over Rs 2,000 crore each and launched a dedicated railway project worth Rs 142 crore for the state.Modi has repeatedly referred to the state as “Kerala” at various events in the city.Addressing an event, he said the Center’s approval of renaming the state to ‘Kerala’ fulfilled the long-standing demand of the people of the state.On February 24, the union cabinet approved the name change proposal passed by the state assembly in 2024.Meanwhile, CM Pinarayi Vijayan and ministers MB Rajesh and K Krishnankutty were absent from the Prime Minister’s official functions. The reason for Vijayan’s absence was not mentioned, but his cabinet colleagues cited personal inconvenience.At the NDA rally, Modi said the country should end the trend of alternating governments between the CPM-led LDF and the Congress-led United Front. “Give us five years to turn Kerala into a developed country,” he said.He took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying he was unaware of the achievements of India’s youth, especially in drone manufacturing, an apparent reference to a Congress MP’s recent statement in Thiruvananthapuram in which he said China was dominating drone manufacturing and India was currently far from it. “He didn’t know that there were many companies manufacturing drones in India. He didn’t know that young people in Kerala were creating drone startups. He was confined to a small circle and could not see the growth of India. “said the prime minister.Modi also accused the Congress of deliberately making “provocative and irresponsible remarks” on the West Asian crisis for political reasons to “aggravate the situation and put our people in trouble, and then they can all blame Modi together.” “That’s their game,” he said.Modi also labeled the Sabarimala gold scam to attack the LDF and UDF. “While the LDF workers were accused of looting gold from the temple, the UDF was accused of selling the looted gold,” he claimed without elaborating.