Kerala govt's negative attitude messed up COVID-19 crisis: Nadda

New Delhi : BJP national President JP Nadda on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Kerala government over the COVID-19 pandemic, alleging that the state government's attitude was always negative and it messed up the health crisis.

"The state government messed up the COVID-19 crisis. Pinarayi Vijayan's government tried to suppress the real figures and always had a negative attitude even when the Indian Medical Association suggested increased testing," Nadda said while addressing the people of Kerala via a virtual rally after inauguration of a Bharatiya Janata Party office in Kasaragod via videoconference.

The remark comes at a time when India has become third worst-hit nation with nearly 8.5 lakh coronavirus cases, with Kerala registering a total of 7,438 cases.

"The Pinarayi government said that they have enough quarantine facilities, but it wasn't the case. People suffered due to that. Migrant workers in Wayanad had to stage a protest against the state government. The Kerala House was given to anti-CAA protesters but wasn't given to Malayali nurses who needed it," the BJP chief claimed.

He alleged political patronage to private companies in Kerala and compromise of medical data in the process.

Nadda also trained his guns at Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi over his "secret meeting" with the Chinese Ambassador during the Doklam stand-off (in 2017). "The people of India know that Rahul Gandhi was meeting the Chinese Ambassador secretly during the Doklam stand-off and you misled the nation and did not inform the country," he said.

"You've missed all 11 defence committee meetings. This is how you run a country? India got to know only when the Chinese Ambassador put your picture with him online. This 'love for your nation' is fake," Nadda said targeting Gandhi.

The BJP President said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an emotional connect with the people of Kerala. "PM Modi has emotional bonding with Kerala. When Puttingal temple (fire) incident happened (in April 2016), the Prime Minister reached the spot in less than 8 hours with a team of best doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences for the treatment of the injured persons."

He added that it is not only the emotional connect, the PM has taken care of giving Kerala proper political representation. "Many Keralites, including Suresh Gopi, have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha and are in the Lok Sabha," he said.

"Before addressing the people in Abu Dhabi, Modi met with the Kerala diaspora, talked to them, had lunch with them, and understood their problems in detail and then tried to solve them. He did the same when he went to Dubai," said Nadda.