NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday targeted Congress amid the ongoing internal tussle, especially after top party leader indirectly called Shashi Tharoor “irrelevant”. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla suggested that the grand old party should have a “Board of Peace”, as he went on to list several reported internal tussles in the party.”After Rahul vs Priyanka Congress, DKS Vs Siddaramiah Congress, Gehlot vs Pilot Congress, now Tharoor vs Kerala Congress,” BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a post on X.
“Maha Yuddh in Maha Panchayat? Guess Congress party needs it’s own ‘Board of Peace’. But one thing is clear : whoever keeps country above family gets sidelined in congress – I’m an example of this,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit reacted to why Thiruvananthapuram MP skipped the Kerala party meet saying, “All the strong and senior leaders from Kerala are attending. Those who are relevant to the Congress are coming,” he said. Tharoor, who is said to be displeased that Rahul Gandhi did not meet him during his Kochi visit, will attend the Kerala Literature Festival instead. Speculation about a rift between Tharoor and the party gained traction after a sequence of developments that observers interpreted as signs of the senior leader’s growing dissatisfaction with his role within the Congress.Tensions between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress appeared to deepen after he skipped a crucial party meeting on the eve of last year’s Winter Session of Parliament, a move widely read as a sign of strain. Moreover, Tharoor has openly questioned the space he occupies within the organisation and the expectations the party has of him.He has also spoken publicly about what he described as a leadership vacuum in the Kerala Congress, and later met Rahul Gandhi to seek clarity on his own position within the party structure. These interventions, rather than settling matters, added to speculation about an uneasy relationship.
