New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of sidelining Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) lone Muslim candidate in Kerala during a roadshow in the state on Tuesday (March 19).
Modi conducted a roadshow in Palakkad with candidates from Palakkad and the adjacent Ponnani constituency (Malappuram district). However, BJP’s Malappuram candidate Abdul Salam was not invited to participate in the event, PTI reported.
CPI(M) leader A.K. Balan said that Abdul was deliberately sidelined in Modi’s roadshow, reflecting the BJP’s attitude towards religious minorities.
However, Salam refuted the allegations and said that his constituency did not have any connection with Palakkad district, adding that that the Ponnani candidate, Niveditha Subramanian, was a part of the roadshow as the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency also includes the Thrithala assembly segment of Palakkad district.
“I heard some candidates were going to take part in the roadshow. I was not invited to it. I did not go there to take part in the roadshow. I went there to meet Modi and invited him to Malappuram, Salam told South First.
He said that Subramanian had invited him to board the prime minister’s open roof vehicle but the prime minister’s security staff said his name was not on the list.
“Furthermore, the vehicle was already full. So, I saw no point in arguing over the issue there. Sure, I admit, I would have liked to travel in the vehicle with Modi, but who wouldn’t? But, I do not believe there was any discrimination involved,” Salam told South First.
Salam, a former vice-chancellor of Calicut University, had contested as a BJP candidate in the 2021 Assembly polls from Tirur in Malappuram.
