THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai on Tuesday termed AICC chief Rahul Gandhi an ‘asylum seeker’ and said the Congress’ subservience to the Muslim League was a failure on the grand old party’s part. He was referring to Rahul Gandhi’s candidature in Wayanad for the Lok Sabha polls.“The Wayanad constituency comprises more than 60 per cent Muslim votes.
The Muslim League is more powerful there than the Congress. What else is special about the constituency,” wondered Pillai. He was speaking to journalists during ‘Janayatham 2019’, a ‘meet-the-press’ programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club.
“Since BJP has a political responsibility to speak to people on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah have taken it up across the country. This cannot be inferred as ‘anti-Muslim’. The issue has to be taken up politically,” he said.He said with Rahul Gandhi’s candidature in Wayanad, the ‘alternative’ mooted by Congress and Left parties against BJP and NDA had fallen flat.
On BDJS president Thushar Vellappally representing NDA in Wayanad, Pillai said since the seat was earlier allocated to BDJS, Thushar decided to contest from there. “Thushar is a strong candidate, who is acceptable to people cutting across party politics,” Pillai said.On whether the state BJP has put the Sabarimala issue on the back burner, Pillai said it would never be the case. “BJP will take up the police atrocities against devotees,” he said.
On Poll Plank
Congress drawing lines of religion, says BJP
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP national secretary and NDA election-in-charge of Kerala, Y Satyakumar has said the Congress is dividing people in the name of religion. The senior leader said whatever the Congress spin doctors clarify regarding the candidature of Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, it is clear as crystal that he has conceded defeat even without a single vote being cast.
The senior BJP leader said the Congress is in fact trying to appease vote bank politics.