Kerala: Rahul Gandhi takes on Pinarayi Vijayan, slams LDF's partisan politics
“I am happy for him to attack me. But you should also spend a little bit of time attacking the BJP, Mr Modi and the RSS,” said Gandhi
After being at the receiving end of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s constant attacks, former Congress president and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi finally slammed the chief minister for constantly attacking him alone instead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking to a massive crowd at Kozhikode beach on Monday, 15 April, Gandhi asked, “Why is the Chief Minister of Kerala attacking me 24/7 when BJP is destroying the Constitution, attacking democracy, destroying the institutions and dividing India?”
I am happy for him to attack me. But you should also spend a little bit of time attacking the BJP, Mr Modi and the RSSRahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad
The crowd seemed rather appreciative, as Gandhi went on to ask why the BJP was not attacking the chief minister of Kerala either:
Why are they not taking away his house, taking away his chief ministership, putting cases against him or getting him interrogated by the ED? After all, two chief ministers were jailed by the BJPRahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad
Gandhi contrasted this with the consequences he had faced himself for being highly critical of the BJP and the RSS:
I attack the RSS and the BJP and 24/7 they are after me. I spent 55 hours being interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). After I gave a speech in the Parliament, the BJP had me removed from Parliament and I was reinstated by the Supreme Court.
They took away my house. I said to them, I don’t need your house. I have millions of houses in the heart of India’s peopleRahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad
Earlier, during his road show at Dasanakkara in Wayanad, Gandhi slammed the partisan politics of the LDF. He questioned why the state government was not sanctioning a medical college for the district:
This is not an issue where one party should be fighting the other party. Will anyone here belonging to either Congress or the Left say they do not want a hospital? Then why is it being delayed?Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad
"This is a public issue. It seems like we have to come to power in the state for it to happen,” continued Gandhi in a rousing speech to the crowd that had gathered since morning, waiting to hear him speak at mid-day.
A few days ago at a press conference, Vijayan had hit out at Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad. "What is the meaning of this? Who is Rahul Gandhi fighting in Kerala? Can we say he is contesting against (BJP candidate) K. Surendran in Kerala? Can we say he came to Kerala to fight against the BJP? He is coming here to contest against the LDF," he added.
Slamming Gandhi for contesting against Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Annie Raja from Wayanad, Vijayan said "everybody" was questioning his decision of contesting from Kerala and not directly against the BJP from the Centre.
Kerala goes to the polls on 26 April, in the second phase of the general elections, when the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress is hoping to repeat its 2019 Lok Sabha result, where it won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
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Published: 17 Apr 2024, 9:51 AM