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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
