Congress leader Oommen Chandy changed his statement and claimed that he never said Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad. Earlier, he said that he was assured by senior leader AK Antony that Rahul Gandhi will contest Lok Sabha from Kerala.
Thiruvananthapuram: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Oommen Chandy told media personnel that he had never said Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad.
Oommen Chandy had earlier made a straight pitch by stating that he and his party workers welcome Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad in Kerala. He had also said that he was assured by senior leader AK Antony that Rahul Gandhi will contest from Kerala.
Before an expected official announcement, Wayanad Youth Congress activists celebrated Rahul Gandhi's candidature for the Lok Sabha election. There have also been reports of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu state Congress units asking party chief Rahul Gandhi to contest from their states as well.
Chandy also told media reporters, "As other state units asked party chief to contest from their state, I too wished that Rahul would contest from Kerala". He also added to his statement saying he never gave any assurance that Rahul will contest from Wayanad.
"The UDF always makes statements only to change it later. It's always been their behaviour. Whether Rahul Gandhi contests or not, we are not going to change our candidate and we are not scared of anyone," said senior CPM leader, EP Jayarajan.
He said, “We (LDF government) only make statements which we implement or else refrain from making statements.”
This is not the first time that the Congress has changed its stance. Earlier, Congress protested the Sabarimala verdict by the Supreme Court that allowed the women into the temple, only to have party worker SP Manju enter the shrine on January 8.
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