Rahul has 'fled' to Kerala out of fear: Amit Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah Sunday ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his decision to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, saying he has "fled" to Kerala fearing that Amethi voters will seek an account of work done by him and his party over the years.

Shah was speaking at his first election meeting in western UP, where voting will be held on April 11. The saffron party had won all eight Lok Sabha seats in the region in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"Rahul Gandhi has fled to Kerala as he fears that Amethi voters will seek an account (of work) from him," the BJP chief said.

"In Kerala, there is politics of appeasement, hence he is going there. You have played with the security of the country for your vote bank politics. Wherever you will go, people of the country will ask you to give an account (of your work)," Shah said.

The Congress announced earlier on Saturday that Gandhi will contest from Wayanad besides his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The decision is seen as an attempt by the party to consolidate voter base in south India, especially Kerala, which has 20 Lok Sabha seats.

Shah also hit out at the Congress for "giving a clean chit" to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Samjhauta Express blast case, sending Swami Aseemanand and other "innocent persons" to jail and "putting a tag of terrorism on Hindus".

He claimed that in "the Samjhauta blast case, the then Union home minister P Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Rahul Gandhi himself had said before US officials that Lashkar is not a threat, but people spreading Hindu terrorism are."
Referring to Modi washing the feet of sanitation workers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the BJP chief said, "This has not happened earlier. The prime minister honoured them and also sent a message of social harmony."