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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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
