Wayanad: BJP candidate in Wayanad K Surendran has said SDPI's support for the Congress will unsettle Christian voters. ''Everyone knows of PFI's hostile intentions towards Christians and Hindus,'' he said adding that the PDP chief Abdul Nazer Mahdani was released from the jail as soon as the Congress took charge in Karnataka.
"As Rahul Gandhi has failed to fulfil his duties and secure the people's confidence, the Congress is resorting to divisive politics by aligning with groups like SDPI and PFI to secure votes. People will realize this," he told Onmanorama before filing his nomination on Thursday.
Surendran persisted with his tourist jibe at Rahul Gandhi. '' While Rahul Gandhi holds a visiting visa, I consider myself a permanent resident. He has visited Wayanad fewer than ten times in the past five years. He was not here at the time of floods or COVID-19 pandemic. The electorate seeks reliability and accessibility in their representative,'' said Surendran.
The BJP leader also said that as a remote area inhabited by tribals, farmers, migrant labourers and plantation workers, Wayanad has a lot of unfulfilled needs.
"There area has no basic infrastructure like rail, road or airstrip. It is just like Amethi which was wallowing in darkness till 5 years ago. Smriti Irani changed the face of Amethi by bringing everything to the constituency -from drinking water to educational institutions," he said.
He said Wayanad is one of the 112 aspirational districts selected by the PM for economic and social development. '' My aim is to follow up this project and change the face of Wayanad through a clear plan focusing on infrastructure. Health issues amongst the people like sickle cell anemia need to be addressed as well," Surendran said.
The BJP leader also slammed Rahul Gandhi and the State government for not addressing the human-animal conflict in the constituency.
"The Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav has already clarified how plenty of funds were allotted for resolving the human animal issue. But there was criminal negligence by the state government. Rahul Gandhi didn't even raise the issue in the Parliament once," Surendran said.
