Kanniyakumari has the potential to be a “mini-Singapore” if projects are not opposed by Opposition parties, said Pon. Radhakrishnan, former Union Minister and BJP candidate for the April 6 Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha bypoll.
A former MP from the constituency, he told The Hindu on Tuesday that no development activities were undertaken in the district in the last two years and all work initiated by him as MP had not seen any progress.
“This time, there will be development. Educated youth especially are worried about their future and jobs. This has to be addressed. Compared to other districts, there is a reluctance among youngsters here to become entrepreneurs. This is because till now they have not been given the confidence that they can achieve something in life,” he said.
Youngsters have to become job creators and be guided on starting small businesses based on their education and experience. They must take the businesses to higher levels over time. “Compare the district to Sivakasi, which has grown exponentially in just a few years…,” he said.
Asked why he lost in 2019, Mr. Radhakrishnan said probably people of the constituency did not have the confidence that he would deliver on his promises.
“Maybe they thought I wouldn’t do much. But after the last election, people, without any religious, political or caste divides have been saying that they got cheated the last time due to [the Opposition’s] negative propaganda,” he said.
According to him, religious divide in the district spanned over 40 years, and the DMK has been trying to let it fester for political gain.
“We don’t see any discrimination. Everyone in the constituency are citizens of Kanniyakumari. The BJP will celebrate if people are together,” he said.
The BJP will work to turn 100 youngsters into role models. “We will help them start businesses, procure licences and loans; marketing will be taught. We are ready. They should come forward,” he said.
Projects on hold
He said a coconut park was proposed to be established, but had been put on hold. An ESI hospital, for which he had taken efforts to acquire land, did not materialise, he said. For setting up a rubber park with a research centre, the Tamil Nadu government had asked him to buy 400 acres of land.
“How will we acquire 400 acres? All these are pending. If these are all done, the district will become a mini Singapore. We just need five years to implement all this. For that we need MLAs who don’t oppose projects or mislead people,” he said.
“Take all MPs from 1989 to 2014, and all MLAs too. In all these years, none of them have done even 10% of the development work done by me in my tenure,” he said. “I challenge them to bring the book published by me on my achievements and debate on it,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
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