Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India TV
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday filed his nomination from Wayanad in Kerala. Along with his sister Priyanka and party leaders, Rahul took out a road show in which green star crescent flags of Indian Union Muslim League appeared with the tricolour Congress flags.
IUML is an ally of Congress in United Democratic Front in Kerala, and its flag has been the original green crescent star one. IUML has a good base in Muslim dominated pockets of Kerala, and there should be no objection to the use of the green crescent star flags.
There is no problem for Rahul as such in Wayanad because of the green flags, but when images of these green flags being displayed along with Congress flags were flashed across the nation on TV channels, it is surely going to give a wrong message to the people. The green star cresecent flag happens to be Pakistan's national flag, albeit with a white margin on the left, but the public at large in the rest of India may not take this kindly, particularly at a time when India-Pakistan tension is at its peak.
BJP leaders have already gone to town showing these pictures and videos and alleging that when Rahul Gandhi seeks Hindu votes, he puts on a 'janeu' and goes on temple hopping, and when he needs Muslim votes (there are roughly 29 pc Muslim voters in Wayanad), he uses green Muslim League flags.
Congress leaders will now have a tough time explaining why these green IUML flags were used in Rahul's road show.
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