PM Modi ran "divisive campaign" during Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi emphasised unity: Congress MP Shafi Parambil

By Aparna Jacob
Vadakara (Kerala) [India], June 22 : Noting that the outcome of Lok Sabha polls had given a message to the BJP-led government, Shafi Parambil, newly-elected Congress MP from Kerala's Vadakara has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders ran "a divisive" campaign while Rahul Gandhi laid thrust on unity in his election meetings.
In an interview with ANI, the MP said there was also a lesson for the opposition parties in the verdict.
Parambil won against CPI-M's KK Shailaja Teacher and BJP's Praphul Krishnan in Vadakara in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.

"In multiple instances during the election campaign, PM (Narendra Modi) made derogatory remarks about Rahul Gandhi... He was trying to divide, saying that if the INDIA bloc came to power, Ayodhya temple will return to the tent... He was hitting us below the belt but Rahul Gandhi stood for unity," Parambil said.
"Rahul Gandhi walked the length and breadth of the country to protect the democratic India. He walked 4000 km to protect India's integrity. Bharat Jodo Yatra and Nyay Yatra turned out well for us."
The MP said people in Vadakara also supported Rahul Gandhi's yatra.
Talking about Congress and INDIA block's performance in Uttar Pradesh, Parambil said that people gave a strong reply to the BJP. "In Uttar Pradesh, seats won by INDIA alliance show you can't take people for granted. Just dividing the people communally won't help you. And that was a befitting and strong reply by the electorate."
"PM's majority has gone down in Varanasi. And the results of Ayodhya tell us not to take people for granted. So it's a huge message given by the people (to BJP) and it's a message for us too. Stick to the Constitution and speak for them (people)," he added.
The INDIA bloc, which has major opposition parties, won 234 seats in Lok Sabha while BJP-led NDA won 293. The BJP, which got absolute majority on its own in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, got 240 seats in this year's Lok Sabha polls.
In electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) won 37 seats, BJP 33, Congress six, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) two, and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and Apna Dal (Soneylal) one seat each.
Asserting that formulas and strategies secured the win in Vadakara, Parambil said, "The people of Vadakara wanted Congress to be in power again...even in Hindi Heartland, people voted against the government."
The newly-elected MP also talked about the way forward for Vadakara and reiterated that he will stand for growth and development of Vadakara. "I will roll out programmes, especially for youngsters, women and education. Vadakara is a constituency with a rich legacy. I will use my term as a bridge to connect that legacy with the future."
"I am going to prioritize sports. I will focus on growth and development irrespective of politics and religion. I will voice the same politics the INDIA alliance has put forward. And it's my responsibility."
On the incident of the death of a person while making crude bombs in the state's Kannur, Parambil said that the "politics of bombs and communal discrimination was rejected by the people of Vadakara."
"There was one death while making bombs...Police can't act due to political pressures that are disrupting the harmony of Vadakara. CPI-M is not trying to discourage the workers, even the government is keeping a lid on this matter," he alleged.
On the issue of controversial "alleged fake screenshots" in which two pro-CPI (M) profiles had posted a screenshot of the message attributing it to the Indian Union Muslim Youth League (IUML) activist PK Khasim with the purported message appealing to Muslim voters to not vote for the "non-believer" Shailaja and instead lend their support to the Congress candidate, Shafi Parambil said someone created a communal post on behalf of youth and "he approached the police station and said 'if there is a so-called group in my phone, you can arrest me'."
"Police checked his (PK Khasim) phone and confirmed he hadn't committed this and the screenshot turned out to be fake... there are people's representatives who haven't deleted the post from their wall. So who did this? This post was created and circulated with communal intentions."
"This was done with the sole intention to disrupt the harmony of Vadakara. So I want the truth to come out. We will follow it up legally. These shouldn't set a precedent in the politics. If someone from our side has done this, we will take action against that party worker. But this cannot be one-sided," Parambil added.
The Kerala Police told the court on June 15 that it had found no evidence against the IUML worker over the message.
Parambil also talked about Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
"No one can match his charisma. And that doesn't happen frequently. He was a person who dedicated his whole life to the people, not only during election campaigns or being in power. What makes us happy is that we are the ones who want to follow the path that has been walked by Oommen Chandy..."
On the query about morphed videos created against CPIM candidate KK Shailaja and circulated on social media, Parambil said, "There was a situation where people raised allegations that I circulated morphed videos of K K Shailaja. It turned out to be a baseless allegation..."
He said that as a follower of Oommen Chandy, he would not tarnish someone's reputation or degrade people. "...It seems those baseless allegations against me were intentional by the senior members of the opposite party. People of Vadakara gave a befitting reply to those allegations," he said.