KANNUR: There are three main issues to be discussed in this election, AICC president Rahul Gandhi said while speaking to the reporters in Kannur after the UDF leaders’ meet in Kannur, Kasargod and Vadakara constituencies on Wednesday. He said the three main issues before the people were the collapse of the economy due to the wrong policies of the BJP Government like demonetisation; the increasing suicide rate of the farmers across the nation and the Rafale deal which was done to benefit Anil Ambani a whopping sum of Rs 30,000 crore.
Responding to PM Modi’s allegations that the Congress was supporting the anti-national forces, he said, “Congress and its workers were the people who suffered the most from the attacks of anti-nationalist forces.”
He said, “To divide the nation into many parts; to destroy the agriculture sector; to make around 27,000 people lose their jobs on a daily basis and to loot the public money to gift it to the cronies are the anti national activities.” Everybody knows who is doing this, said Rahul. Modi should answer all these things.
Taking a dig at the PM’s alleged lack of media interactions, he asked, “Why is Modiji not showing the guts to face the media like me?”
Commenting on the political violence in north Malabar, the Congress president said, “Congress is against any type of violence in politics, political violence shows the weakness of a party. We don’t believe in murder politics or politics of violence.”
P J Joseph’s ‘RaGa’
Kalpetta: Kerala Congress leader P J Joseph was the cynosure of all eyes after he sang a song in praise of Rahul Gandhi at a poll rally in Sultan Bathery. “I had informed my wish to sing the song through K C Venugopal (AICC general secretary). After Rahulji’s speech, he came back to the stage when informed about my wish to sing the song,” Joseph told ‘Express’. He said the song was written by two women in Vanappuram in Thodupuzha, his Assembly constituency. I heard them sing the song at Vanappuram, which I liked. The song was fine-tuned with some modifications and is used in the election campaigning in Kerala, he said.