Bijnor: BJP chief Amit Shah Sunday ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, saying he has “fled” to Kerala fearing that Amethi voters will seek an account of work done by him and his party over the years.
Shah was speaking at his first election meeting in western UP, where voting will be held on 11 April. The saffron party had won all eight Lok Sabha seats in the region in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
“Rahul Gandhi has fled to Kerala as he fears that Amethi voters will seek an account from him,” the BJP chief said.
Shah also said, “The Congress had given clean chit to Pakistan terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in Samjhauta Express bomb blast case, sent Swami Aseemanand and other innocent persons to jail, and had put a tag of terrorism on Hindus.”
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is all set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency, besides his existing seat and Gandhi family pocket-borough Amethi.
Making the announcement Sunday, senior Congress leader A.K. Antony said, “I am happy to announce that Rahul Gandhi has given consent and he will contest from Wayanad parliamentary constituency, Kerala.”
In Amethi, Gandhi is pitted against Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani, who put up a spirited fight against him in 2014, bringing down his victory margin from well over 3 lakh in 2009 to a little over 1 lakh votes.
Dismissing speculation that Gandhi was worried about losing Amethi or was neglecting it, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said Amethi was the “karm bhoomi” of the Congress president and he will never desert it.
Besides Antony and Surjewala, senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and K.C. Venugopal were also present during the announcement.
The Congress claims it is the voters and party workers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala who wanted Gandhi to contest from the southern region.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi to also contest from Wayanad, Congress confirms