Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP after Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane reportedly compared Kerala to “mini Pakistan”, saying it shows that the saffron party has deep-rooted “animosity” for the people of the Southern state. He also demanded that Rane should be immediately sacked.

Reacting to Rane’s remarks on Kerala, Venugopal, who is also the Congress general secretary in-charge of Organisation, said, “From time to time, the BJP deploys its hate mongers to spew venom against Kerala. Using terms like ‘mini Pakistan’ shows they have deep-rooted animosity for the people of Kerala.”

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He said for the entire world, Kerala is a model state that has continuously topped the Human Development indices, especially on education, healthcare and overall standard of living.

Pointing out that since millennia, Kerala has been a beacon of communal harmony and brotherhood among all religions and sects, the senior Congress leader asserted that to use abusive language for the land of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamikal and Mahatma Ayyankali, who advocated for egalitarianism, inclusivity and social justice, shows the BJP’s “disregard” for its own fellow citizens.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Venugopal said, “If PM Modi has any shame about Mr Rane’s statements, he should sack him immediately. The people of Kerala have rejected, and will never accept the BJP for this very reason – they do not understand the beauty of its harmonious living.”

According to a news agency, addressing a rally in Pune Rane said, “Kerala is mini Pakistan that is why Rahul Gandhi and his sister (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) are elected from there. All terrorists vote for them.”

It may be mentioned that Vadra won the Wayanad parliamentary by-election which  was necessitated following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as MP from there.