"He indulges in petty talk," says Kharge referring to PM's jibe on Rahul

New Delhi [India], May 3 : On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe over Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli and not Amethi, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said that there is no reason to reply to him.
"He indulges in petty talk and attacks by abandoning his dignity There is no meaning in replying to them. Who is scared?" said Kharge.
"Didn't (LK) Advani file a nomination from two seats? Didn't (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee do it? He himself did it," he added further.
Earlier in the day, invoking his earlier statement that Rahul Gandhi might have to seek another seat to contest after the casting of votes in Kerala's Wayanad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tore into the former over his candidature from his mother's old seat, Raebareli, saying he bolted from the seat down South as he did in Amethi in 2019.
Addressing a mega rally in the Purba Bardhaman district on Friday, PM Modi said, "There's no need for an opinion poll or exit poll...I said this much earlier. I predicted on the floor of Parliament two months ago that their (Congress') biggest leader (Sonia Gandhi) would stand down from contesting these elections. And just as I had foreseen, she (resigned as the Raebareli MP and) took a seat in the Rajya Sabha from Jaipur."
"I also told you earlier that the Shehzaada would start looking for another safe seat for himself, fearing defeat in Wayanad. He was so afraid after losing Amethi in 2019 that he bolted all the way down South, to Wayanad. Now, he has escaped to Raebareli. These people often go around telling people, 'Daro maat' (don't be afraid). It's now my turn to say the same to them--'Arey daro maat, bhaago maat' (don't be afraid! don't flee!)," he added.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency.
Rahul was accompanied by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and her husband and businessman Robert Vadra.
Rahul is pitted against Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli. A sitting MP from Kerala's Wayanad, Rahul is also seeking a fresh term in the Lower House from the seat that polled in Phase 2 of the general elections on April 26.
Earlier, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that Congress had conceded defeat from the constituency even before a vote was cast, adding that the opposition party would not have fielded a "proxy candidate" (Kishori Lal Sharma) if they were hopeful about the outcome of the polls.
In Amethi, the Congress will be represented by Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family. Kishori Lal Sharma filed his nomination from the Amethi seat earlier in the day.
The voting in both seats will be held in the fifth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on May 7. Polling for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.