President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday lavished praise on Kerala’s achievements in health, education, tourism and IT sectors, and termed the southern state, with its inherent resources and strength, as a potential powerhouse of digital India.
At the launch of Kerala government's ambitious Technocity project near Thiruvananthapuram, Kovind said “IT has played a game changing roles in healthcare, education and tourism. These areas are Kerala’s strengths”.
The President’s praise stands in stark contrast to BJP leaders’ attempts to stigmatise Kerala during a state-wide rally against violence attended by national leaders like BJP president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanth who had advised Kerala to take healthcare lessons from his state. The ill-informed advice proved counterproductive as Kerala, with its world-class health indicators, was no comparison to Uttar Pradesh, a BIMARU state where children were dying due to lack of oxygen supply in the Yogi’s constituency.
This is not the first time, the President appeared to contradict the opinions of BJP leaders. Just after BJP lawmaker Sangeet Som called Taj Mahal a blot on Indian culture, Uttar Pradesh government downplayed the importance of the Mughal-era structure, and Sangh Parivar groups termed the marble structure originally a Hindu temple, the President pulled the rug under the Sangh narrative.
He said the Mughal-era monument is one of the seven wonders. “They say Shah Jahan dedicated it to his wife but I say he dedicated it to love,” the President said.
When Ram Nath Kovind, an understated politician from Bharatiya Janata Party, was chosen the presidential candidate, he was thought by many to be somebody who could potentially help the party. But his observations at different occasions have punched holes in BJP leader’s rabble-rousing comments.
In another occasion, his statement appeared to cross swords with Union minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde over Tipu, the sultan of Mysore.
Hegde referred to the Muslim ruler as a “brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist”, which ran contrary to popular adulation for the ruler, known as the Mysore Tiger. But at a joint session of the legislature during the Vidhana Soudha’s diamond jubilee celebrations in Bengaluru, Kovind said: “Tipu Sultan died a heroic death fighting the British.”
