After Congress’ surprise pick of Kishori Lal Sharma from the Amethi constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi saying that he feared contesting from the seat, which is currently held by incumbent MP and BJP leader Smriti Irani.
Speaking at a poll rally in Bardhaman-Durgapur, in an apparent reference to Rahul, PM Modi said, “We don’t need an opinion poll. I said this earlier only that Congress’ ‘shehzada’ is going to face defeat in Wayanad and will run to look for another seat as soon as the polling is done there.”
“Their people were saying that he will come to Amethi but he is so afraid that he is only looking to find a way in Rae Bareli. ‘Daro Mat, Bhago Mat’,” the PM added.
In a statement on Friday, the Congress party said that Rahul Gandhi will be contesting from the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, a constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades. Meanwhile, ending days of speculation, Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi seat.
The two seats will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth of the seven-phase general election.
He further attacked Congress, reiterating his campaign pitch, saying that the grand-old party wants to change the Constitution, snatch Dalit and OBC quotas and provide reservation to the “jihadi” vote bank. The term “jihadi” is in reference to Muslims.
Exuding confidence, PM Modi said that the Congress’ tally in this Lok Sabha elections will be at an all-time low.
Attacking the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the prime minister said that the party has made Hindus second-class citizens in the state.
The Prime Minister also asked the West Bengal BJP unit to create a separate legal cell to provide help to “genuine teachers and candidates” who have lost jobs due to the School Service Commission (SSC) scam.
“Although he wants those involved in corruption by the TMC to be punished but doesn’t want the innocent to suffer.
The corruption that the TMC has done in Bengal in school recruitment is shameful. Due to this scam, several genuine candidates have suffered. I have asked the Bengal BJP unit on behalf of the party to create a separate legal cell and social media platform to provide help to the genuine candidates and teachers,” he said.
“BJP will support such honest candidates and will provide them legal help and will fight for them. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
Modi’s statement follows a recent ruling by the Calcutta High Court invalidating the recruitment procedure for the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in government-affiliated schools in West Bengal, leading to the dismissal of approximately 26,000 employees.