New Delhi, April 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined the spree of top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who have mounted an offensive against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for choosing Kerala's Wayanad as his second seat of candidature in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019.

The decision, Modi said, was sparked by fear as the Congress has "insulted" the Hindu community -- forming the majority in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, the constituency considered to be the Gandhi family bastion. Furious CPM Vows to Defeat Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.

On the other hand, Wayanad, a seat in the coastal state of Kerala, has minorities forming a bulk of the voters' segment. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Hindus form just "49 per cent" of the constituency.

Modi reiterated the charge while addressing a BJP rally in Maharashtra's Wardha on Monday. "The Congress insulted Hindus. People have decided to punish it in the election. Leaders of that party are now scared of contesting from constituencies dominated by majority (Hindu) population," the Prime Minister said.

"Congress used the term 'Hindu terror'...it labelled peace-loving Hindus as terrorists...is there a single incident of Hindu terrorism? The people will never forgive the Congress for this insult," he further added.

Notably, Wayanad is the second constituency which would be contested by the Congress chief. The party has now withdrawn his name as the candidate from Amethi -- the constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi since 2004.

The rationale behind shifting his second base to Wayanad, said Congress veteran Shashi Tharoor, is to galvanise the party cadres in the three southern states in run-up to the general elections.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2019 04:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).