KALPETTA : Treading cautiously, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi abandoned party flags of all UDF constituents as he took out a massive roadshow to the Wayanad district collectorate on Wednesday to submit his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election.
The extensive use of key ally Muslim League’s green flags during Rahul’s 2019 roadshow was played up by the BJP at the national level, with senior leaders like Amit Shah wondering whether he was seeking votes in Pakistan, crushing the hopes of the Congress in north India.
Instead of flags, tricoloured balloons and hats along with placards were part of Wednesday’s roadshow. Rahul’s sister and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, UDF parliamentary constituency election committee chairman Panakkad Sayyid Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal and several other local UDF leaders and thousands of supporters accompanied him. Congress campaign committee chairman Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, Congress interim state president M M Hassan, and IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty also joined Rahul in the open vehicle.
The absence of flags has left many tongues wagging. Even Rahul’s 2019 loss in Amethi was attributed to the presence of Muslim League flags in his roadshow then. The Congress was in no mood to take any chances this time. Since it would have been counterproductive to avoid only the League flag, it was decided to abandon the use of flags altogether, including that of the Congress. “Flags are not important in elections. Rahul Gandhi and the hand symbol are our icons,” Kalpetta MLA T Siddique said. But Congress and the Muslim League will have to sweat it out to explain the action. There will be questions as to how the party will raise the issues of Muslims, when it finds even the presence of the League flag embarrassing.
Speaking at the conclusion of the roadshow, Rahul said he will be with the people of Wayanad in their fight to resolve three major issues – human-wildlife conflict, night travel ban and establishment of medical college.
People of Wayanad chose me as a family member: Rahul
Rahul said though he had been constantly pressuring the Union and state governments to resolve the issues, no action has been taken. “If our government comes to power at the Centre and in Kerala, we are sure all the problems will be solved,” Rahul said. “It has been an honour for me to be your member of Parliament. Being the MP of Wayanad is seen as the greatest honour... I was able to see the crises Wayanad faced. Many people lost their family members and everything, including their homes, in the flood,” he said, while hailing the people of the constituency for uniting in the hour of crisis.
“People of Wayanad chose me as a family member irrespective of party politics,” he added. Rahul and Priyanka also distributed the Congress’ election manifesto at Maravayal ST colony in Kalpetta and explained the promises mentioned in it, including agricultural debt relief, guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) with legal protection. Rahul said this election was a fight to protect democracy and the Constitution. “There is a move to destroy democracy and Constitution. Everyone knows who is doing this. In this struggle, Congress and INDIA bloc are on one side and Modi, Amit Shah, BJP and RSS on the other,” he said.
Rahul also met P Jayaprakash, the father of J S Sidharthan, the Pookode veterinary college student who ended his life following alleged harassment by SFI workers. Rahul offered all help to Jayaprakash’s legal battle to get the perpetrators punished.