New Delhi [India], January 24 : A day after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor missed an All India Congress Committee (AICC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla said that the party is in "tukde tukde mode" and is "sidelining, humiliating" their party leader.
"Once again, Congress is in Tukde Tukde mode - divided in 2 parts, just like in Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan or Rahul Congress vs Priyanka Congress. It shows that Congress leaders and ministers have no confidence in the party's leaders or the Jharkhand government, indicating there are non-performers," Poonawalla told ANI.
Poonawalla's comments come a day after Tharoor skipped an AICC meet in Delhi due to his prior commitments at the Kerala literature festival. Tharoor had spoken about his latest book, 'Sree Narayana Guru'. While the Congress leader had informed the leader about his prior commitments, his absence comes a few days after he was reportedly 'ignored' by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the party's "Mahapanchayat" organised in Kochi, Kerala, on January 19.
"The fight between Tharoor and Congress has crossed all limits, where we can see how it is playing out in public... Congress is sidelining and humiliating him because, on certain occasions, Dr Tharoor has kept the national interest above Rahul Gandhi's lies, wished LK Advani on his birthday, and taken a stand in favour of the nation. They are so angry that they issued a fatwa against him. As a natural reaction, Dr Tharoor is also skipping the party events," Poonawalla added.
During the Kochi Mahapanchayat, Rahul Gandhi had entered the venue while Tharoor was addressing the Maha Panchayat. While Gandhi, along with KC Venugopal, greeted multiple party leaders, a direct greeting to Tharoor was not given.
"Dr Tharoor is in Calicut for the Kerala Literature Festival, Asia's Biggest Literary Festival. He is speaking on his latest book on Sree Narayana Guru. He had informed the party that he won't make it," according to the Congress MP's office.
However, Tharoor reportedly did attend the Prime Minister's event in Thiruvananthapuram, where PM Modi inaugurated multiple Bharat trains.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting was attended by multiple party leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Deepa Dasmunshi, Meira Kumar and others in Delhi.
Congress leaders have reiterated that there is "no difference of opinion" with Tharoor and the central leadership.
"He spoke to the leaders about that, and I guess the leaders have given him permission to be there. This is not about him skipping the meeting. It is an important literary festival in Kerala that he attends every year. This is about our pathway ahead," said Kerala Congress working president Shafi Parambil.
"It is also very important for the party and for us, so he is releasing that (his book), that is why he sent us a message. Party is his priority, he was just in an event with Rahul," said Deepa Dasmunshi, AICC General Secretary.
When asked if Tharoor is 'angry' with the leadership, she added, "No, no, nothing like that. Tharoor is very happy with the Congress party and the central leadership; there is no difference of opinion on this."
This is not the first time the Congress leader has skipped the AICC meeting. Earlier, Tharoor had been criticised by other party leaders for his stance on being part of the multi-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, which went to different countries to put forward India's stance following the Pahalgam terror attack.