Thrissur: BJP Kerala chief K Surendran on Thursday called the incident where Congress workers sprinkled cow dung water at the venue where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a massive women's conference yesterday an act that stemmed from the party's elitist mindset. Addressing a press conference here, Surendran said: “The elitist mindset of the Congress could never accept Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India as he is from a backward caste and the son of a tea vendor.”

“Since PM Modi is from a socially and economically backward family, the Congress must have thought about how could he be allowed to step foot on the premises of Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple. Two weeks ago, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar faced the same experience. We saw Rahul Gandhi personally promoting body shaming videos and insulting the vice president. We also saw the top leaders of Congress publicly castigating Droupadi Murmu, when she won our Presidential election by a landslide. This elitist mindset of the Congress has always strongly expressed its intolerance towards backward castes and weaker sections gaining power in the country,” alleged Surendran.

“The Congress says ‘Modi’s Guarantee’ will not work in Kerala. Neither Congress nor the CPM understand that 'Modi’s Guarantee' is not opportunistic politics. 'Modi's Guarantee' is what he has already done for the people of this country and what remains to be done,” said Surendran.

NDA’s padayatra to begin on Jan 27
Surendran announced that the NDA is planning to launch a padayatra across the state with the slogan ‘Modi’s Guarantee for New Kerala’. The padayatra will begin on January 27 and will cover all the constituencies in the state.

“The padayatra would be a platform for everyone, including the common man, peoples' representatives from grama panchayat level, socio-cultural activists, minority community members and marginalised people, to interact with NDA leaders who would be part of the padayatra,” Surendran said, adding that the purpose of this padayatra is to codify the development activities to be done in each constituency when Modi comes back to power in 2024.

The Snehayathra, an outreach programme launched by the BJP aimed at connecting with the Christian community in the state, will resume in the coming days. The NDA is going to conduct an extensive campaign in January and February to spread the message of ‘Modi’s Guarantee for New Kerala’ to every home in the state.

‘Former PFI workers now 24X7 with TN Prathapan’
Surendran raised an allegation that the active workers of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) are now working as Thrissur MP T N Prathapan's henchmen. “The Congress thinks nobody knows about this. We can share the details with evidence. A group who worked for PFI has joined Congress after their earlier organisation was banned. All the PFI workers in Chavakkad, Guruvayur and Manalur areas are now Prathapan’s henchmen,” said Surendran, citing the reason why BJP men were attacked by Congress workers on Thursday in the city.