Thiruvananthapuram
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that taking away his Member of Parliament (MP) “tag” will not stop him from representing the people of Wayanad in Kerala or intimidate him from raising questions against the Union government.
Gandhi made the remarks during his first visit to Wayanad since his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP from the constituency following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case by a Surat court last month. “They (BJP) think if they send the police to me, take away my house or file a few cases or unseat me from Parliament, I will be scared or intimidated. But they are mistaken. I will continue my fight and continue to ask questions,” the former Congress president said.
“My MP tag has been taken away but nobody can prevent my association with the people of Wayanad. It is a homecoming for me, you treat me as a family member,” he said at a public meeting at Kalpetta.
Following his disqualification from Parliament, the Lok Sabha secretariat had asked Gandhi to vacate his official bungalow – 12 Tughlak Lane – by April 22. He said he will abide by the notice.
The Congress leader was accorded a rousing welcome by thousands of people, including UDF leaders and workers, as he arrived at the meeting venue with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While hundreds of UDF workers lined up for a roadshow called ‘Satyameva Jayate’ holding the Indian flag, several people across all age groups gathered on the roadside to welcome Gandhi as he travelled to the venue on a truck accompanied by his sister and senior state party leaders. At the public meeting, Gandhi said he was not allowed to speak in Parliament for raising questions at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on industrialist Gautam Adani.
“I only asked a question to the Prime Minister. What is his relationship with the industrialist (Gautam Adani) who was in the 609th position in the country and how he became no 2, after he (Modi) assumed power? We have seen airport and seaport rules changed for him and how he (Modi) facilitated his growth,” Gandhi alleged.
Gandhi said his fight against the government, which he claimed, was “guided and controlled by four or five people”, will continue. He said the fight was between two visions, one guided by hatred and divisiveness and other by compassion and involvement of the people.
On Gandhi’s remarks, BJP leader S Suresh said: “He is making himself a laughing stock by repeating his baseless allegations. It seems he is yet to learn a lesson from his mistakes.”
Priyanka thanked the people of Wayanad for standing with her brother. “You all know how the government and its machineries attacked a man who asked a pertinent question. But you cannot silence him like this. It is a fact that truth is always uncomfortable for those who always lie,” she said.
