Kerala is as much mine as is Varanasi, says PM Modi in Kerala's Thrissur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur in Kerala’s Thrissur district. PM Modi left Kochi at 9.20 am and his helicopter landed at the Sree Krishna College ground at 9.50 am. The prime minister reached here in a special naval helicopter from the Kochi naval airport.

The prime minister arrived in Kochi late on Friday night and was received at the naval airport by Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and state Devaswam Minister Kadakampally Surendran. He stayed at the Government Guest House in Kochi.

After an hour-long ‘darshan’ at the temple, the prime minister addressed a party meeting -- Abhinandan Sabha -- being organised by the BJP Kerala State committee. This will be Modi’s first public meeting after assuming the chair of the prime minister for a second consecutive term.

In his first public engagement after leading the BJP to a grand victory in the general election, retaining power for a successive term, Modi said he made Kerala his first stop after the win despite having no MP from the state since it was as dear to him as his constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Terming the just concluded Lok Sabha election to 542 seats as a “festival of democracy,” Modi lauded and thanked the electorate of Kerala for their contribution to it.

The country has seen that “people are God” in elections, he said.

“Political parties and political pundits could not gauge people’s mood. So did those involved in conducting (poll) surveys. But people gave a strong mandate for the BJP,” he said and thanked the voters for choosing his party.

The recent polls proved that people rejected “negativity” and accepted positivity, he said.

“Elections have their place in democracy and it is the responsibility of the winner to take care of 130 crore people. Those who made us win or those who did not, both are our (people). Kerala is as dear to me as Varanasi is,” Modi said.

The BJP was not working for mere electoral politics and was keen on building the country and ensuring India gets its place of pride in the international arena, Modi added.

On the Nipah virus issue, he said the Centre was working “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the Kerala government to provide all required assistance. 

(With PTI inputs)