Lotus will bloom in Kerala soon: Union home minister Amit Shah

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union home minister Amit Shah said here on Saturday that the lotus would soon bloom in Kerala too.
"Congress is slowly disappearing from the minds of people across the country. Communism has already come to a naught internationally. BJP is the only future for Kerala," he said.
The home minister, inaugurating the "Pattikajathi Sangamam (Scheduled Caste meet)" here, commended BJP activists in the state, saying party workers elsewhere in the county required only patriotism to work for BJP. But, he said, "Patriotism is not enough for party workers in Kerala. They are in need of courage and gumption to sacrifice themselves if they want to work for BJP in Kerala". Shah urged party workers not to lose courage as BJP would emerge as a leading political force in Kerala in the near future.
Meanwhile, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, addressing the 30th southern zonal council meeting of CMs and administrators of UTs inaugurated by Shah on Saturday, called for concerted efforts to create a harmonious relationship between the Centre and the states. "Cooperative federalism, for its successful and healthy functioning, requires continuous exchange of ideas among all stakeholders. There should be fruitful discussions on proposed legislations based on the entries in the Concurrent List of Seventh Schedule of our Constitution before they are enacted by Parliament," Vijayan said.
At the "Pattikajathi Sangamam", Shah said the Union government led by PM Modi was concerned about improving the life conditions of the SC/ST sections. BJP first selected Ramnath Kovind to the office of President of India, he said. When it got a second term, it chose Draupadi Murmu for the highest post, he added. "Modi believes that the development of the country won't be possible without the development of the SC/ST sections," he said.
"Congress governed the country for 60 years. Communist parties supported the Union government for eight years and were thus part of the governing dispensation. However, both the parties did nothing substantial to improve the lives of SC/ST sections," he claimed. "Congress and Communist parties used Scheduled Caste people as vote banks. Ambedkar was given a Bharat Ratna only after Congress was voted out of power," Shah said.