Cong proprietorship firm of Gandhi family, Tharoor's marginalisation inevitable: BJP
New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's “marginalisation” in the party was inevitable after he contested the party’s presidential election against Gandhi family's "nominee" Mallikarjun Kharge, the BJP claimed on Monday.
The Congress is nothing but a "proprietorship firm" of the Gandhi family, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya also charged.
The BJP’s comments came after Tharoor's recent article in a newspaper drew criticism from some Congress leaders in Kerala for his perceived praise of the Left government in the state for boosting the investment climate.
“Shashi Tharoor’s marginalisation in the Congress was inevitable after he dared to contest the party’s presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge, a nominee of the Gandhi family,” Malviya said in a post on X.
Tharoor’s downsizing would have been “swifter and more conspicuous” if not for his high public profile, he claimed.
“The Congress, after all, is nothing but a proprietorship firm of the Gandhi’s,” Malviya added.
Tharoor's recent article in an English-language daily, praising the entrepreneurial growth in Kerala under the LDF government, kicked off a political storm in the state a week ago with the Congress questioning the basis of it, while the CPI(M) welcomed it.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan sparked the debate on the issue by questioning the basis for Tharoor's article and later Congress general secretary K C Venugopal too sought to know the context behind the Thiruvananthapuram MP's statements.
Tharoor on Sunday clarified that he did not praise the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala, but instead highlighted the state's progress in the start-up sector.
Speaking to reporters, the Congress MP said that his article in the daily did not contain any political references and emphasised that his focus was solely on Kerala’s growth in entrepreneurship and innovation, aiming to highlight the state's development in that specific area.
However, Veekshanam Daily, Congress party's mouthpiece in Kerala, next day published an editorial criticising Tharoor, without naming him, for praising the entrepreneurial growth of the state under the left government. It urged him not to betray the expectations of thousands of party workers ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
The national leadership of the Congress last Tuesday stated that the controversy surrounding party leader Tharoor's article was a closed chapter.
AICC general secretary Venugopal said that the party had spoken to Tharoor on the matter, and he had informed them that if accurate data on the state's entrepreneurial growth were available, he would reconsider his stance.
"There is no need for any controversy over it. It is a closed chapter. That is the Congress' view," Venugopal told reporters here in response to a query.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
