Fear of split in Congress in South: Party leaders accuse Shashi Tharoor of factionalism, Tharoor said – no need to fear

There is a fear of a split in the Kerala unit of the Congress party. Actually, party MP Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Mallikarjun Kharge in the election of Congress President, is on a tour of Kerala. Here he met leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress alliance (UDF) in Malappuram.

After this the discussion started that Tharoor is trying to form his new faction in the party. Although Tharoor tried to put an end to these discussions and said – no one needs to be afraid of me.

Leader of Opposition and senior leader of Kerala Congress V D Satheesan said in clear terms that no leader is allowed parallel activity in the state. If anyone tries to do so, he will be dealt with strictly.

The Congress has been out of power in Kerala since 2016. Since then Tharoor has been accused of factionalism.

Why did the speculation of a split start?
The Congress party has been out of power in Kerala since 2016. Here is the government of the left alliance LDF. Since then, a section of the Congress party in Kerala has been accusing Tharoor of factionalism. Tharoor is also an MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. Tharoor has good relations with the leaders of the Muslim League. After this, a section of the Congress is fueling the formation of ‘Tharoor faction’ within the party in the state.

Let us inform that out of total 140 seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the ruling LDF has 99 seats. Whereas the Congress’s UDF alliance has 41 MLAs. Of these, Congress alone has 21 seats and IUML has 15 seats.

Tharoor said – I am not afraid of anyone
Media questioned Shashi Tharoor. He was asked who is afraid of your visit to Kerala? In response, Tharoor said – I am not afraid of anyone and there is no need for anyone to be afraid of me. He also said that he was not interested in forming factions within the state Congress. His meeting with leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) at the residence of Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal in Panakkad was just a courtesy call.

Tharoor termed the meeting with Congress’s allies as just a courtesy call.

Congress leader said – factionalism is not tolerated
Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Tuesday said that any factionalism or change in the Congress party would not be tolerated. Also warned that such a move would be dealt with seriously. He said that the state unit of the Congress was on its way to return to power in the state after two consecutive defeats in the assembly elections. In this case no parallel activities are allowed.

Talking to the media, Satheesan said that various kinds of fake news cannot destroy leaders like him as they are not inflated balloons which can be burst with the prick of a pin. Although the media persons repeatedly asked him about this comment whether he had said this for Tharoor, but he refused to say anything.

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan has warned against Tharoor’s parallel activities.

The place of every leader in the party, but the rules of the party are paramount
On the question of Tharoor’s visit to Malabar, Satheesan said that every leader has his own place in the Congress party. No one is against it, but the party has its own rules and regulations. Without mentioning anyone, he said the party was on its way to make a comeback in the state after suffering two defeats in the assembly polls. All the party members are currently working like a team. In such a situation, if someone tries to create factionalism, it will not be accepted.

He said that we cannot accept the agenda of weakening the Congress party. Even if it is being done through any media or social media. If any member of the party does this, he will be dealt with seriously.

Tharoor accused of favoritism in the presidential election
During the election of the Congress President, Shashi Tharoor accused the senior leaders of the party of being biased. He had then alleged the absence of big leaders including the State Congress Committee (PCC) president during his campaigning in the states. He had said that the same leader used to sit with him during the campaign of Mallikarjun Kharge.

Tharoor had also accused the leaders of discrimination in giving necessary documents related to the election. He had said that I was given an incomplete list of Congress delegates who voted in the election. Apart from this, discrimination was also done in giving numbers of people.