The letter to the Congress seeking an organisational overhaul seems to have deepened the tension between MP Shashi Tharoor and his fellow members at the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Criticising the 23 signatories of the letter to Sonia Gandhi, which surfaced in the media ahead of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Monday, Congress leader and Kerala MP K Muraleedharan said that sending the letter was “not right and unnecessary”.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien were reportedly among the 23 Congress leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi, seeking sweeping changes in the party. Having a "full time" leadership that is active in the field and "visible" in party offices, devolution of powers to state units, and revamping the CWC in line with the party constitution were some of the far-reaching suggestions made by the 23 senior Congress leaders, which reportedly included Kapil Sibal, Ghulab Nabi Azab and M Veerappa Moily.
While Muraleedharan evidently defended PJ Kurien, he did not seem to offer any support to Shashi Tharoor, and even took a dig at the Thiruvananthapuram MP, calling him a “global citizen”. The former KPCC president tried to evade questions on Shashi Tharoor a number of times.
At the press conference after the KPCC meeting on Thursday, when Muraleedharan criticised the Congress leaders for writing the letter, the journalists asked if KPCC plans to take action against PJ Kurien, political affairs committee member of the state Congress unit.
“He might not have thought it would become a big issue at the time. He is a senior member and he later rectified his stance when he was criticised," replied Muraleedharan in Kurien’s defence.
However, when he was asked about the MP from Kerala who is one of the signatories to the letter, Shashi Tharoor, Muraleedharan said that only All Indian Congress Committee (AICC) can seek an explanation from a Member of Parliament.
“Besides, Sonia Gandhi has said there will be no action against any of the 23 leaders, so there is no point in talking about one person,” he added. As part of the closing remark at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi, who continues to be the interim Congress president, had reportedly said that she was hurt by the letter but she had no ill-will towards any of her colleagues.
A reporter then asked about the continuing difference of opinion between Shashi Tharoor and KPCC — the recent being over Tharoor favouring Centre’s decision to lease the Thiruvananthapuram airport to Adani Enterprises. “It will be decided by the leaders at the national level. You made him a global citizen; we are just ordinary citizens,” he responded, in an obvious jibe at Shashi Tharoor, a household name on international platforms.
When further prodded about favouring PJ Kurien and not both the signatories from Kerala, Muraleedharan insisted that Kurien is a committee member and hence the matter will be discussed within the committee.