Taking away MP tag won’t stop me from representing people of Wayanad: Rahul

Wayanad (Kerala): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the BJP taking away his MP “tag” will not stop him from representing the people of Wayanad or intimidate him from raising questions.

Gandhi was speaking at a public meeting in the border district of Wayanad in Kerala where he arrived for the first time after his disqualification as an MP. “Member of Parliament is a tag. It is a post. So, BJP can take away the tag, the post, the house and they can even jail me, but they cannot stop me from representing the people of Wayanad.

“I am surprised that even after so many years, BJP has not understood its opponent. They do not understand that their opponent will not get intimidated. They think I will get scared by sending police to my house or that I will be disturbed if my house is taken away,” he said. Thousands of people, including UDF leaders and workers, turned up on Tuesday at Kalpetta to welcome Rahul Gandhi, who arrived here along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi after his disqualification as an MP.

While hundreds of UDF workers lined up at Kalpetta here for the roadshow called ‘Satyameva Jayate’ holding the Indian flag, several people across all age groups gathered on the roadside to welcome Gandhi as he travelled to the public meeting venue on a truck accompanied by his sister and senior party leaders from Kerala.

Gandhi arrived here on a helicopter and then travelled to the venue on a truck which had to inch along in view of the thousands, carrying placards of his photograph, who had turned up to show their support for him.

Senior Congress leaders like AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, KPCC president K Sudhakaran, Muslim League State President Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, AICC General Secretary Tariq Anwar and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, will also participate in the UDF-organised conference.