Home department in Kerala has collapsed, claims Piyush Goyal

Union minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said there were increasing cases of atrocities against women in Kerala

The Union minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said here on Tuesday the Kerala State Home Department had collapsed. He told a press conference on the second day of his visit to the State that there were increasing cases of atrocities against women in the State, which had turned into a hub of terror activities.

There are significant challenges facing Kerala now as both the political fronts are bankrupt on ideology, he said. He pointed to the case of a panchayat near Kochi where the UDF and the LDF had joined hands to keep the BJP from power.

There are also cases of increasing political assassination in the State, he said, pointing to the disruption in law and order in the state.

The Union minister said he had visited fishers and fish workers on his visit to Kerala. The total marine food exports from the country had touched ₹50,000 crore and he said the target now was to lift this figure to about ₹ 1 lakh crore annually over the next five years.

He said that the interests of the fishermen in the country would not be compromised at all even as he is attending the 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization later this month. The WTO ministerial conference is the top most decision making event at the World Trade Organization held every two years. Fisheries will one of the key topics to be discussed at the conference.

The minister said the Union government had taken appropriate action on a recent religious controversy and that there was no tension between India and the Gulf countries over the issue.

He also expressed the opinion that the Kerala government must take appropriate action on the semi-high speed K-Rail project in keeping with the welfare and wishes of the people. He claimed that the project would damage the environment seriously.