Rahul Gandhi’s Kolar visit put off to April 16

KOLAR, BENGALURU: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kolar for the Jai Bharat protest rally, which was scheduled for April 10, has yet again been put off to April 16.

According to sources, Rahul Gandhi will be busy with filing an appeal against his disqualification from Parliament after a Surat court held him guilty in a criminal defamation case over his remarks on the Modi surname. During the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign in Kolar, Rahul Gandhi had remarked, “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?”

Hence, the party had decided to launch the Jai Bharat rally from Kolar itself and a massive stage has been erected on the outskirts of the town. The party had planned to gather about one lakh people for the rally.

Siddaramaiah during a roadshow in Kolar recently.

Meanwhile, the Siddaramaiah camp is of the view that Rahul Gandhi should announce his (Siddaramaiah’s) name as the candidate from Kolar during the rally if the party is to sweep all the Assembly constituencies in the district. This will also energise the party cadre in the district, they argue.

However, others in the party feel that no such announcement should be made. With opposition in the party ranks to Siddaramaiah contesting from Kolar, there is no possibility that Rahul Gandhi would many any such announcement, they countered.