3 min readKottayamMar 31, 2026 04:59 AM IST
ADDRESSING A modest gathering in the sweltering heat of Kottayam, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging a nexus between the two.
The nine-minute speech was one of the five he gave on a frenetic day of campaigning in central Kerala, where the Congress-helmed United Democratic Front (UDF) is expected to wield considerable influence in the Assembly polls on April 9.
Drops of sweat dripped from Gandhi’s face, which he constantly wiped with a handkerchief. More than the heat, the whirring of the giant fans’ blades irritated him and he requested a volunteer to reduce its speed. Once settled, he came down heavily on Modi and Pinarayi.
“Narendra Modi listens to Donald Trump, and Pinarayi Vijayan listens to Narendra Modi. It’s a partnership we are fighting,” he said. “Do you know what Narendra Modi calls Donald Trump? He calls him ‘sir’. The reason is that the American president is controlling Modi through Epstein Files and Adani cases. The same way Modi is controlled by Trump, your Chief Minister here is controlled by Modi.”
PM Modi had visited Palakkad on Sunday, where he highlighted the corruption charges against the ruling Left and lashed out at the “adjustment between the LDF and UDF”. However, Gandhi dwelled on the Prime Minister’s silence on the Sabarimala gold theft case, wherein gold and silver plating of idols and temple figurines of the state’s most-visited temple had been stripped off. The case has snowballed into a scandal that could define the polls outcome. “Narendra Modi talks about religion all the time. Wherever he goes, he talks about temples, religion, God. So, in Kerala, why is he not saying that CPM has stolen gold from Ayyappa? Now, suddenly, he has forgotten God,” said the Congress MP.
At times, he played to the gallery too. “You want my house, take it, I don’t need it. Because I got a house in the hearts of the people of Kerala.”
Moving onto election promises, he assured to prioritise the flailing rubber economy of the central Kerala belt, where revenue from rubber is the backbone of many livelihoods. “It is our commitment that on the first day of our government, the price will be Rs 250 per kilogram, and then it will increase further, even up to Rs 300.”
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Currently, it is Rs 218 per kilogram. It was one of the promises the Left government had made when it came to power in 2016, but never hit the mark on a consistent basis.
On the other promises in the Congress manifesto, Gandhi said, the UDF, if voted to power, would make travel free for women in state-run buses, every single woman in college or university will get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000, senior citizens will get their ministry, besides an increase in their monthly pension to Rs 3,000, youngsters starting a business would get interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh and every family will have access to Rs 25 lakh for medical treatment.
He would take a few swigs of water as beads of sweat rolled down his temple. “Thank you for listening patiently in this heat,” he concluded his speech.
