Salman Khurshid urges Keralites not to break the trend of choosing alternate fronts

Addressing media in poll-bound Kerala, Senior Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid urged the people of Kerala not to break the pattern of choosing alternate political fronts. Khurshid also urged Keralites to ensure that the secular features of politics in the state are "kept alive" always.

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday urged the people of Kerala not to break the pattern of choosing alternate political fronts- LDF and UDF- every five years and said the decades-old election trend has given the state its best possible advantages.

"Very sensibly and judiciously, the people of the state have always ensured that the best is available to them between the two fronts," he said while addressing the media here ahead of the April 6 Assembly polls.

Khurshid also urged Keralites to ensure that the secular features of politics in the state are "kept alive" always.

"There is a pattern of behaviour by which the voters shift from one front to the other every five years. And that has given Kerala the best possible advantage...possible alternative. Nothing should happen to break that pattern here. It's our appeal," he said.

"With this, the message Kerala would be sending out is that what was being attempted everywhere in the country, including where there is a viable BJP-NDA presence, would be reversed from here," he said.

"Let's go to the very beauty and ideology of India, which combines all religions... combines together Hindus and Muslims...like in a beautiful bouquet of flowers. That is India," the former union minister said.

Criticising the LDF government over the gold smuggling case and alleged misuse of flood relief funds, Khurshid said some recent developments in the state were not part of Kerala's culture and character.

The floods in 2018 had caused enormous damage to the state, he said.

"But the relief money that should have gone to the needy and victims of the flood has gone into private hands. That is very unfortunate," the senior Congress leader added.

Alleging that the unemployment rate in Kerala was double the national average, which was "unacceptable", Khurshid also slammed the Left government over crimes against women and children and incidents of 'police brutality.'

PTI