New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wooed Kerala on Monday, holding an impressive roadshow in Kochi and then telling a gathering in the evening that the country’s youth, and that of the state, had stepped forward to lead India’s development journey.
Modi is on a two-day visit to the state – which has been ruled by the opposition Left Democratic Front since 2016 – and will inaugurate the state’s first Vande Bharat Express on Tuesday.
The Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod semi-high-speed train will cover 586 kilometres in eight hours and five minutes and halt at 14 stations.
“There was a time when India was counted among the ‘Fragile 5’,” the Prime minister told the crowd at the Yuvam Conclave in Kochi. “But now, we are called the fastest-growing economy. It is you, the youth, who have made this possible. That is why I trust the country’s youth the most,” he said.
Modi took a swipe at the previous governments, saying they had led people to think that nothing could change in this country. “But now people think that this country can change the entire world,” he added. “They created scams in every sector, while we are creating opportunities,” he said.
He also criticised the ruling state government for not being focused on youth employment or self-employment. “In all BJP-ruled states, the drive to provide Govt jobs to the youth is going on rapidly … I have been told that in Kerala, the ‘Rojgar Mela’ is not held nor is much attention paid to recruitment in government jobs. The youth of the state can’t forget such attitude of the state,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister extolled the power of Kerala’s youth at a time when India “was walking ahead and shouldering global responsibilities”.
“Today, everyone says that the 21st Century belongs to India. India is a country with abundant youth power… Today’s India is ‘Start-up India’ and ‘Stand-up India’… ‘Atmanirbhar India’ and ‘Digital India’,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister then took the names of several Padma awardees from Kerala this year – 99-year-old social activist V.P. Appukutta Poduval, Kalaripayattu guru S.R.D. Prasad, historian C.I. Issac and farmer Cheruvayal Raman, who promoted traditional farming – as talents in the state from whom there was much to learn.
Earlier in the day, Modi held a roadshow in Kochi, walking ahead of his cavalcade as people threw flower petals at him.
The Prime Minister was dressed in the traditional “mundu” as he walked amid people queuing up on both sides, cheering him on. He also shook hands with some.
During his two-day visit, Modi will also inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 3,200 crore. Apart from the train, he will inaugurate the Kochi Water Metro, a project that connects 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats — aimed at seamless connectivity with the city.
He will also launch the electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section, and lay the foundation stone of various rail projects, including the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations.
He will kick off a Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram, which is envisaged as a key research facility to develop digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with academia.
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