Tharoor a 'guest artist' in Cong, says KPCC working president
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who was among the "group of 23" that wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking urgent organizational overhaul, has come under attack from some leaders in Kerala, with a senior MP calling him a "guest artist" and asking him to follow party policies.
Hitting out at Tharoor, KPCC working president and the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kodikkunnil Suresh on Friday said everybody in the party should work according to its policies and programs.
Suresh's statement created ripples in the state party unit, with many senior leaders voicing concern over the "bid to weaken Tharoor."
"Shashi Tharoor is certainly not a politician. He came to the Congress party as a guest artist. He is still continuing in the party as a guest artist," said Suresh, who represents Mavelikara constituency in the Lok Sabha.
Taking a dig at Tharoor, the former union minister also said "Tharoor may be a global citizen", but he should not think that he can take any decision or say anything according to his will.
"Ultimately, he should follow the party (policies and programs)", Suresh told reporters here in response to a query.
Reacting to Suresh's statement, senior party MLA P T Thomas said the KPCC has clearly stated that the Congress leadership in Kerala stood with the position taken by A K Antony in national politics.
"However, the move to weaken Tharoor under the guise of this is unfortunate. A universal personality like Tharoor should be assessed on the basis of his high renown," Thomas said in a Facebook post.
KPCC Vice President V D Satheesan said "Tharoor is not our enemy".
Describing the ex-UN official a leader with a global footprint, Satheesan said Tharoor is "our dear MP who could trounce the Fascist forces thrice" in Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.
"The CPI(M) and the BJP are our enemies," he said.
Satheesan also said the political affairs committee of the KPCC has decided to support the decision taken by the Congress Working Committee.
Tharoor and P J Kurien, who were signatories to the controversial letter written to Gandhi, will support the decision taken by the CWC, he said.
Young Congress leaders like KS Sabarinadhan, MLA, and Kozhikode DCC president T Siddique also came out in support of Tharoor.
Suresh's statement targeting Tharoor came a day after the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that it is the duty of all to work together in the interest of the Congress once the party chief has stated that the matter is "behind us".
"I've been silent for 4 days on recent events in @INCIndia because once the Congress President says the issue is behind us, it is the duty of all of us to work together constructively in the interests of the Party," Tharoor tweeted on Thursday.
"I urge all my colleagues to uphold this principle & end the debate," he said in the tweet.
Earlier on Thursday, former KPCC President and Lok Sabha MP K Muraleedharan had also taken a dig at Tharoor over the issue, calling him a "global citizen".
A section in the Congress's state unit is also upset with Tharoor over his open support to the Centre's move to lease out Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for 50 years to Adani Enterprises.
"The people want the airport. It's some politicians who are opposed to it," Tharoor had said, while all political parties in Kerala, barring the BJP, opposed the Centre's decision to give the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises on lease.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
