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“The people of Kerala want change,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared on Friday, August 22, as he launched a blistering attack on the state’s Left-led government. He expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to make major inroads in the southern state.
Addressing the inaugural session of Manorama news conclave in Ernakulam, Shah accused the Kerala government of corruption, weak governance, and misleading propaganda against the Union government over disaster relief funds. He said that decades of alternating rule between the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had left the state “mired in scams”.
“The gold smuggling case reached right up to the Chief Minister’s Office. Then there are the cooperative scam, the Exalogic scam, and several others. People are not happy with the state of affairs,” Shah charged.
On security, the Home Minister alleged that the state government had “compromised” law and order for political gains. Naming the Popular Front of India (PFI), he asked why the extremist organisation had not been banned earlier.
“PFI spread from Kerala to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat. Had it not been for the Narendra Modi government, the organisation would still be active,” he said.
Shah also pushed back against the Kerala government’s frequent accusation that the Union government has withheld disaster relief assistance. He argued that allocations under both the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) have been significantly higher under the Modi-led administration than during the UPA years.
“The centre has consistently supported Kerala in times of natural calamities. Funds have been released on time, and assistance has always been extended during floods, landslides, and other disasters,” Shah asserted.
His remarks come amid continuing friction between the Union and Kerala governments, with the Left-led state often alleging discrimination in central support. With elections approaching, Shah’s comments signal the BJP’s intent to sharpen its political offensive in Kerala.
Expanding his criticism beyond the state, Shah also targeted the opposition INDIA bloc over its nominee for Vice President, retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy. The Home Minister accused Reddy of having “supported Naxalism (Maoism)” through his judicial pronouncements.
He cited the former judge’s 2011 ruling on the controversial Salwa Judum movement in Chhattisgarh, which declared unconstitutional the practice of arming young tribal men as special police officers to counter Maoists. The judgement ordered that such vigilante groups be disbanded, stressing that the state must address insurgency through lawful governance rather than irregular militias.
Revisiting that verdict, Shah alleged the decision had indirectly strengthened Maoist extremists and curtailed the State’s ability to respond.
“Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave the Salwa Judum judgement. If that judgement had not been pronounced, Naxal terrorism would have ended by 2020,” he said.
Shah further claimed that the Congress, under pressure from its Left allies, had nominated “a candidate who supported Naxalism with a forum like the Supreme Court.”
Justice Reddy, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2011 after serving on several significant constitutional benches, will contest the September 9 Vice Presidential election as the INDIA bloc’s nominee. He faces Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, the BJP-led NDA candidate.
The election follows the resignation of vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar last month. Justice Reddy’s Salwa Judum ruling remains one of the most debated judgements on State policy toward Maoist insurgency, drawing both praise for upholding constitutional rights and criticism for limiting counterinsurgency measures.
Earlier in the day, Shah held a closed-door meeting with BJP’s Kerala unit leaders, urging them to aggressively expand the party’s vote share. He set a target of 25% support in the upcoming local body elections likely to be held in December this year.
(With IANS inputs)