Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took a lighthearted jab at party MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday, telling him to attend an event around Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary and not just write newspaper articles, sources said.
The Congress and Tharoor, who is a four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram and one of its most recognisable faces, have had an uneasy relationship at times, especially over his perceived support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on certain issues.
Read : “Make Him President”: Omar Abdullah’s Dig At BJP Amid Gyanesh Kumar Row Later the same year, Tharoor ruffled feathers within the Congress when he wrote an article against ‘dynastic politics’, an issue that has often been used by the BJP to target the party and the Nehru-Gandhi family.
At the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Tuesday, a discussion began on when the Congress or the Opposition INDIA alliance should hold a rally. Tharoor suggested that this should be done on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Another such lighthearted moment arose when Congress President Kharge told Rahul Gandhi not to worry, as the entire Congress stood behind him. Gandhil quipped, “Standing behind is fine, but let’s hope they are not too far behind.”
He hinted that even those present in the meeting had shared that scepticism and emphasised that whereas only 20% of people used to believe the allegations earlier, the figure is 80% today – a testament to the Congress’ success.
Gandhi, the sources said, noted that while people used to be sceptical when he spoke about vote theft in the past, that perception has changed.
