Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted a photo of party leaders from the Kerala unit on Sunday and asserted that they “stand as one” and were “united” by the light of purpose ahead. The post appears to be Gandhi’s attempt to prevent infighting from jeopardising the Congress’s prospects in Kerala before the Assembly polls next year.
In the photo is Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been at the centre of a controversy within Congress’s Kerala unit for a couple of weeks. Gandhi said in an Instagram post, “They stand as one, united by the light of purpose ahead.” His post was accompanied by the hashtag ‘Team Kerala’.
Tharoor made headlines after he spoke positively about certain aspects of the Kerala state’s government. In an English daily, he explained he had not ‘praised’ CPM, but only tried to highlight Kerala’s progress in the startup sector.
Tharoor faced criticism for praising the state’s entrepreneurial growth under the Left government in the party’s mouthpiece, Veekshanam Daily. The publication argued that weakening the Congress from within was “suicidal” at a time when the party has been actively critiquing the failures of the LDF government.
According to NDTV, the CPM latched on the remarks, claiming they had exposed the Congress’s propaganda against the LDF government. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Tharoor’s statements are based on facts. “It is about Kerala, not about any political party or government. All Keralites should feel proud of our growth amidst heavy odds. There is no need to give any political colour to his words,” he said.
Meeting at Indira Bhavan
Rahul Gandhi posted the photo after the party’s top brass met Kerala leaders at Indira Bhavan, New Delhi, to brainstorm on Friday to discuss their strategy and the way forward ahead of the assembly election next year.
According to PTI, the meeting in Delhi was nearly three hours long, and it had discipline, unity and strengthening of the state organisation as its running theme.
During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said leaders should be very careful about the political strategy and should not do or say anything that does not toe the party line, according to sources.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge laid stress on discipline, ensuring unity and filling up the vacant posts to strengthen the party’s Kerala unit.
Aside from Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor and AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi, among others, were present at the meeting.
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