'Contesting from Wayanad to give South India a message': Rahul Gandhi to News Nation

Refuting BJP’s charges of him fleeing to "minority-dominated" seat of Wayanad to escape “Hindu anger”, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that he was fighting the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi as well and chose the former as the second seat to give Southern India a message.

“I am fighting from Amethi also. Modi’s politics in south India – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha – gave these states an impression that there is no place for them in India. He seemed to tell the southern states that country will run from Nagpur and Chennai has nothing to do with it. To give South India a message, I am fighting from two places,” said Rahul in an exclusive interview to News Nation.

The Congress chief was responding to a question on the BJP targeting him for contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad in Kerala which has a sizeable Muslim population.

Addressing an election rally in Maharashtra, PM Modi had on April 1 said the Congress is scared to field its leaders from constituencies where majority dominates in terms of voter-base.

"Some leaders are shying away from contesting polls (in the first place). Those, whom it (Congress) called terrorists, have woken up," Modi said.

"They linked peace-loving Hindus to terrorism... they are scared now to contest election from constituency where majority population dominates...they are forced to go where majority (Hindus) are in minority," he added.

Wayanad will witness a triangular contest with Left Front constituent CPI's P P Suneer and BJP-backed NDA candidate Thushar Vellappally also in the fray.