Rahul Gandhi’s ‘no-flag’ Wayanad rally brings Left, Right together

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, April 4

Two extremes of the political spectrum, the Left and the Right, on Thursday found themselves on the same page as they attacked Rahul Gandhi over “missing” Congress party and its ally Indian Union Muslim League flags during the MP’s road show in Wayanad on Wednesday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and BJP star campaigner Smriti Irani came down heavily on Rahul for “hiding” IUML as well as Congress flags.

“The Congress has fallen to such an extent that it is now scared of communal forces. It did not have its own or IUML flags in the rally of Rahul Gandhi because they are afraid of the BJP. They want the votes of IUML but do not have the courage to publicly display either their own or IUML flags,” said Vijayan, who leads the LDF government in Kerala and has been taking swipes at Rahul for fighting ally CPI’s Annie Raja in Wayanad, rather than “fight the BJP elsewhere”.

Irani, who was in Wayanad on Thursday to accompany BJP candidate from the segment, K Surendran, for the filing of nomination papers, also questioned Rahul for “failing to display IUML flags.”

Irani said if Rahul was afraid of showing IUML flags, why did he want their support. “He should decline to take IUML support,” she said.

In jibes at Gandhi, whom she defeated by over 50,000 votes in Amethi in 2019, Irani said: “Rahul Gandhi used to call Amethi his family and then abandoned it. Yesterday, he called Wayanad his family. Who changes families? Who runs away from families?” asked Irani.

She added: “How can Wayanad choose Rahul as its MP when the so called INDIA bloc cannot choose him as their PM face?”

Who abandons family

Rahul Gandhi used to call Amethi his family, but abandoned it in 2019. Now, he is calling Wayanad his family, who changes families? — Smriti Irani, BJP leader