The Congress party has the right to decide which candidate it should field in each constituency and instead of focussing all attention on Rahul Gandhi, the media should be discussing people’s loss of livelihood, high unemployment rate, price rise and farmers’ issues, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal has said.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, Mr. Venugopal was peeved that the entire media, including the national media, seemed to focus on why Mr. Gandhi was being fielded from Rae Bareli.
“Rae Bareli is a constituency from where the former Prime Minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi used to contest. Why should Mr. Gandhi not contest from there? Why is the media silent on the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also contested from the two constituencies and the late A.B. Vajpayee from three constituencies at once?,” Mr. Venugopal asked.
He said that for the media, criticising Mr. Gandhi, whether or not he was contesting from Rae Bareli, has become a set agenda. If Mr. Gandhi was not contesting from Rae Bareli, then the campaign would be that he was running away from north India fearing a direct contest with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Congress, hence, is not bothered by what opinions the media has to share and the party’s focus will be on the real issues of people, said Mr. Venugopal.
He said that the people of Kerala know Mr. Gandhi to be a very sincere person and their love and regard for him was evident during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, when the rally entered the State. The people of Kerala trust Mr. Gandhi and know that he will not betray the nation, added Mr. Venugopal.
He added that the Congress was confident of winning all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.
