Congress, BJP claim credit for resolving grievances of coastal communities in Kerala

Tharoor said the letter does not promise anything new or bring any solution to the crisis, as the BJP claims.The BJP has blanketed coastal Pozhiyoor with posters claiming its candidate has resolved the long-standing grievances of the local people -- which I have been raising in Parliament and with the Union Government for more than a decade -- by obtaining a letter dated 15 March from a PS to an MoS.

Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha constituency Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar indulged in a tug of war on Thursday, with both claiming credit for resolving the long-standing grievances of residents of coastal areas of the district.

Chandrasekhar made the claim in his poll campaign using a letter from the Fisheries Ministry offering technical assistance to the Kerala government in resolving issues related to harbour development projects in the coastal areas. Tharoor said the letter does not promise anything new or bring any solution to the crisis, as the BJP claims.

''The BJP has blanketed coastal Pozhiyoor with posters claiming its candidate has resolved the long-standing grievances of the local people -- which I have been raising in Parliament and with the Union Government for more than a decade -- by obtaining a letter dated 15 March from a PS to an MoS. Some have been fooled into thinking the letter does what the BJP claims it does,'' Tharoor posted on social media platform X.

He also shared that letter on social media and remarked that Kerala was not in need of ''technical assistance'' but financial assistance.

''The Kerala Govt does not need technical assistance; it needs money. Everyone knows how to build groynes and GoK has the necessary expertise,'' Tharoor said.

The BJP, which has not had a single member of Parliament ever elected from Kerala, is leaving no stone unturned to bag a seat from the state this time.

The saffron party has fielded Chandrasekhar to take Tharoor head on in a triangular contest in which the Left party has fielded senior CPI leader and former MP Pannian Raveendran.

Coastal areas would play a vital role in the election as all three parties are trying to woo the fishing community and the influential Latin (Roman) Catholic church that many from the community belong to.

The BJP has allegedly been using a letter from the fisheries department which says it will provide necessary assistance to the Government of Kerala for construction of a fishing harbour as a short-term solution and that financial assistance will be given after considering various proposals as a long-term solution for the issues. Tharoor was reacting to the BJP's claim and said that the proposals have been in existence for many years. ''The problem is that the GoI has taken the view that it is the GoK's responsibility, and that it has no obligations. After much prodding by the locals and calls by me, GoK did announce a plan to do exactly what this letter suggests. GoK has budgeted Rs 386 cr for the work and needs Rs 200 cr of that from the central govt,'' Tharoor said.

He added that neither has the state government yet made a formal request to the Centre, nor has the Centre committed to any such quantum of financial assistance. ''Till this is done, the entire exercise is only PR. In short, this letter does not promise anything new nor bring any solution to the crisis, as the BJP claims it does. Their candidate visited Pozhiyoor and claimed that this letter solves the problems of the people. It does not,'' his post on X read.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)