Modi slams Congress over Iran crisis; says govt eyeing every Indian's safety in W Asia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took on the Congress on Wednesday (March 11), accusing it of playing politics over the West Asia crisis and also took on the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleging that the latter is not aware of various developments that are taking place in the country.

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The PM, who was in Kochi in Kerala for various programmes, including a massive rally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), raised his pitch against the Grand-Old Party, saying it was not acting responsibly at such a sensitive time.

Congress attacked Modi after war started

The principal Opposition party has attacked Modi over various issues, ranging from his visit to Israel just days ahead of the strikes on Iran, to the US claiming it allowed India to buy oil from Russia for a month as Iran’s blockading the Strait of Hormuz threatened international trade.

The PM also accused the Congress and the Left, which rules Kerala, of fuelling panic as conflicts and tensions continued in West Asia, urging citizens to remain aware against what he called fearmongering.

Emphasising that many people from Kerala work in West Asia, Modi said his government was trying to extend all possible help to Indians who have remained stuck in the Gulf region. He claimed that India doesn’t leave its citizens unguarded anywhere.

“India of today does not leave its citizens stranded elsewhere. We are working to ensure that every possible help is provided to Indians in West Asia," he said.

PM thanks Gulf nations

The PM also added that the Gulf countries were giving utmost care to Indians working there, and he was grateful to them for that.

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On the issue of disruption of energy supplies in India because of the war, as a major share of the supply is sourced from West Asia, Modi said the crisis and the energy shortage caused by it show the significance for a country to become aatmanirbhar (self-reliant).

Modi urges Kerala to look beyond LDF, UDF

The PM, who took part in a massive roadshow in the coastal town and also inaugurated projects worth crores, also said that it was time for Kerala’s pattern of alternating between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress to end for its own sake.

He urged the people of Kerala to give the NDA a chance to serve them for the next five years, saying it would come with “Modi’s guarantees”.

The PM said that people were ready to move away from the LDF-UDF politics and asserted that the BJP's wins in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in 2024 and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in 2025 will expand to entire Kerala.

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Attacking Rahul, Modi claimed that the Congress's "Yuvaraj" (prince) doesn't know about the development happening in the country, as he was unaware that the youth and various companies in India, including in Kerala, were into drone manufacturing.

Modi, in his speech, also said that the BJP will work for making Kerala a hub of AI and future technology.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister addressed the Golden Jubilee Sammelan of Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha, an organisation which works for the rights of the fishermen community, in Kochi.

(With agency inputs)