Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has accused the BJP of misleading the public with the advertisements that it had placed in newspapers on Saturday in connection with the Lok Sabha polls.
Through its advertisement, the BJP has attempted to defame Kerala which had won 24 awards from various Central government agencies in the past year, Mr. Balagopal said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Mr. Balagopal noted that the advertisement, which has Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo in it, alleges that students are leaving Kerala due to lack of educational and job opportunities. “Students are going abroad for education and jobs not just from Kerala, but from other States as well. Many of them are from Punjab and Haryana,” Mr. Balagopal said.
Various awards were presented to Kerala for excellence in education by the Prime Minister himself and Union Ministers, he noted. He also countered the allegation that salary and pension payments were being delayed in the State. “It remains a fact that the Central government tried to block salary and pensions in Kerala,” he said.
Mr. Balagopal said that the people will not fall for the BJP propaganda.
