Tharoor challenges BJP's Chandrasekhar on constituency performance criticism
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hit back at BJP's Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar on accusations of his non-performance and said that his 'ignorant rival' should first tell voters what the saffron party has done for the constituents when it was in power for the last 10 years.
"I will turn the question around and ask what the BJP has done for Thiruvananthapuram in its 10 years in power. Even promises made on the floor of the Parliament have not been honoured," Tharoor told PTI here on Monday night.
He said the NDA promised an AIIMS for Thiruvananthapuram, a National Institute of Ayurveda and many more.
"They make promises left, right and center and they never fulfil them. That is the BJP's track record. Why should we trust any new promises from this party," Tharoor asked.
However, Tharoor said he agreed with one statement of Chandrasekhar, which was that this election was not a fight between individuals.
"It is a fight between ideologies. We know what we stand for. Does he know what his party stands for? Can he defend this kind of communal agenda that we have seen the BJP coming up with? I would like him to answer that question," Tharoor said.
He said he will be releasing a 70 page report of all his achievements for the constituency in the last 15 years.
"I think we can educate our ignorant rivals on what exactly performance is all about," he added.
His statement came shortly after Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha poll candidate Chandrasekhar on Monday took a dig at Tharoor, his rival in the Thiruvananthapuram seat, saying the contest would be between "politics of performance" and "15 years of non-performance".
Speaking to PTI, Chandrasekhar had said he believes that the people of Thiruvananthapuram knew the details of this contest well, and expressed confidence that it would reflect in the election results.
"Certainly, people are sensible. They know what is the politics of performance, who represents the politics of performance, and who represents 15 years of non-performance," Chandrasekhar said.
Tharoor has been representing Thiruvananthapuram for the past 15 years in the Lok Sabha.
Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology and Jal Shakti, is pitched against Tharoor of Congress-led UDF and Pannian Raveendran of the CPI(M)-led LDF for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.
Refusing to term the electoral battle in Thiruvananthapuram a fight between individuals, the BJP leader had said he believed it is going to reflect the people's choice to help the country continue its 10 years of development into the next five years.
"This is not a fight between Tharoor and NDA. I do not think this is about some personality. I do not think this is about English-speaking skills or whatever," Chandrasekhar said, in a taunt at his Congress rival who is renowned for his eloquence.
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Palakkad: Hotel owners hold protest march against gas price hike
Palakkad (Kerala) (PTI): Hotel and restaurant owners on Saturday held a protest march in Palakkad against the recent nearly Rs 1,000 hike in commercial gas cylinder prices.
The protesters marched through the town holding placards and images of gas cylinders. They also carried two cylinders on a stretcher with a wreath placed on top, according to visuals aired on television channels.
The hotel and restaurant owners contended that it would be difficult for them to sustain their businesses in view of the high cost of commercial gas cylinders.
They said that many of them had been forced to shut their establishments earlier due to the scarcity of commercial gas cylinders, and that most had only recently reopened.
“But the sudden increase in commercial gas cylinder prices has affected our operations,” the protesters said.
Similar concerns were raised by restaurant owners and workers from other parts of the state in response to queries from reporters.
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association had on Friday announced a statewide protest strike on May 6 against the Rs 993 hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices.
KHRA state president G Jayapal said that all hotels and restaurants across Kerala would remain shut on that day in protest against what he termed an “unfair” increase in LPG prices.
He added that over the past five months, the price of a single cylinder had increased by a total of Rs 1,498.
On May 6, establishments will remain closed, and protest marches and dharnas will be held in front of district headquarters and oil company offices, he said.
