CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday, April 1 denied as ‘baseless’ reports published in the Malayalam media that he had advised Rahul Gandhi to contest in South India.
He gave the clarification while speaking at an event in Pathanamthitta parliamentary constituency, according to a statement issued by the CPI(M) on it’s social media pages. He said that it isn’t the job of Communist parties to instruct the Congress President from where to contest.
Yechury also said that many Congress presidents have contested from Northern and Southern India in the past. “Indira Gandhi has contested from Chikmagalur and Sonia Gandhi has contested from Bellary. Was it all based on any kind of advices? We do not recommend anyone to contest or not to contest like this,” the statement said.
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Importantly, Yechury also observed that that the Congress is not disseminating “the right message”. “Neither CPI(M) or the Left is bothered about Rahul Gandhi contesting at Wayanad. We will fight the elections with all our strength. But the Congress must clarify its position in Rahul contesting at Wayanad,” the statement added.
Emphasising that the major objective of the Left and the people of this country is to remove the BJP from power, Yechury also pointed out that Gandhi’s candidature at Wayanad indicates that Congress wants to contest against LDF and not BJP.
The statement further said, “This is against the interests of the country. As far as the country’s interests are concerned, it is inevitable to bring all the 20 LDF candidates from Kerala to Lok Sabha”
Comrade @SitaramYechury said at Pathanamthitta while campaigning for the LDF candidate Com. Veena George that major objective of the Left is to remove BJP from power. But Rahul's candidature at Wayanad points to the fact that Congress wants to contest against LDF and not BJP. pic.twitter.com/BDqPNtAiMw
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) April 1, 2019
He was speaking at Pathanamthitta while campaigning for the LDF candidate Veena George.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Rahul Gandhi to Contest from Wayanad in Kerala Along with Amethi