Rahul represented Amethi for 15 years, nothing changed there. Now he has come to Wayanad like a tourist: Amit Shah

Rahul Gandhi, according to Amit Shah, is a “tourist politician” who represented Amethi in Uttar Pradesh for 15 years before moving to Wayanad in Kerala.

He claimed that for the Congress and the Gandhi family, people are nothing more than a vote bank and the government is nothing more than a money bank.

Mit Shah also mocked the left and the Congress for their poll pact in West Bengal, saying the Communists and the Congress should merge and form a new party called the “Comrade Congress Party.”

Mr Shah launched an attack on Mr Gandhi, who was campaigning earlier in the day in neighbouring Kozhikode district, saying, “This Wayanad is also Rahul baba’s constituency.” He was a representative. I’ve never seen such a tourist politician as Rahul baba. He will be in Amethi at times and Wayanad at others. “He is here as a tourist, and no development is expected from him,” the union minister said.

For ten years, the UPA government ruled. The people elected them to power in order to promote development. Instead, they engaged in corruption and scams totaling 12 lakh crore,” Mr Shah claimed, adding that “for the Congress and the Gandhi family, people are just a vote bank and government is a money bank.”

If BJP candidates are elected, he claims, Wayanad will become the most developed district in the country.

Mr Shah, in an attack on the LDF and UDF, claimed that development has taken a back seat in Kerala over the last two decades. The state was once a popular tourist destination in the country, as well as the most literate. However, the LDF-UDF fronts, which have alternately ruled the state for several years, have stalled development and engaged in corruption, appeasement politics, and political violence, according to the BJP leader. “The UDF-LDF engages in appeasement politics, whereas the BJP-NDA pursues development politics,” he explained.

“They are confused,” he said of the Communists and the Congress. He claimed that in Kerala, they were rivals who fought each other, whereas in West Bengal, they were allies who embraced each other. Shah claimed that gold smuggling occurred under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and that if the Congress-UDF wins power, those involved in the solar scam will be appointed as chief minister.

He also asked Vijayan the same questions about the gold smuggling case again, hoping for an answer before the April 6 assembly elections. The BJP-NDA wants the temple administration to be handed over to devotees, Mr Shah said.