Wayanad(Kerala), Nov 9 (PTI) ) Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Saturday made an apparent reference to the Waqf Board as a "four lettered monstrosity" and said it will be put in its place by the central government, remarks that drew sharp response from the IUML.
Hitting back at Gopi, Congress-ally IUML said that instead of making statements to "divide and rule" people, the Union Minister ought to have taken steps to ensure the landslides affected people of Wayanad receive the central assistance for their rehabilitation.
At a public meeting here as part of the poll campaign of BJP's Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll candidate Navya Haridas, Gopi said that it has been made clear that no board "will be allowed to stand straight here".
"I will not refer to the name of the board. It is a 'kiratham' (monstrosity) confined to four letters of the English alphabet. It has already been made clear that this 'kiratham' will be put in its place and that no board will stand straight. We will pull out its spine," the Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism said.
He said he has got a video, in connection with the matter, from the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah a day ago and it has been given to the state and district leadership of the BJP in Kerala for being circulated in the hill constituency as part of bypoll campaign.
"It should be circulated from today," he added.
The Union Minister also said that in order to uphold the Constitution, the Waqf Amendment Bill will be passed in the Parliament.
Reacting to Gopi's remarks, P K Kunhalikutty, the national general secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), said that instead of making such statements to "divide and rule" the people, the Union Minister ought to have taken steps to ensure central assistance to those affected by the landslides in Wayanad.
"But, divide and rule is the policy now of the Centre and the state government. They are only looking to divide people," he contended.
He further said that referring to the Waqf in Wayanad will not translate into votes for the BJP.
The IUML leader further contended that Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Wayanad after the landslides and "conducted a show", but "not even a penny was given by the Centre for rehabilitation efforts".
"The Union Minister ought to have followed-up on that issue. Instead Waqf issue is being raised in Wayanad. The Waqf Bill is before a Joint Parliamentary Committee. They (BJP) do not have a majority as they did in the past to make big statements," Kunhalikutty said.
Meanwhile, Gopi claimed that if Haridas was voted to the Lok Sabha by the people of Wayanad, he will ensure that she comes back as a central minister.
Besides that, he also used his 'I want Thrissur. You should give me Thrissur. I am taking Thrissur' dialogue, used during his Lok Sabha campaign in that constituency, with a slight modification.
He said, "For Navya, I am requesting that we want Wayanad for BJP, for Modi and Amit Shah. You should give Wayanad to us. If you bless us, we will take Wayanad."
Haridas is pitted against LDF's Sathyan Mokeri and UDF's Priyanka Gandhi in the Wayanad LS bypoll.
The Wayanad by-election was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi, who won seats in both Wayanad and UP's Raebareli, chose to vacate the former. The by-election will be held on November 13.