New Delhi, September 30
As Mallikarjun Kharge prepares to take on Shashi Tharoor in the contest for the next president of the Congress, the BJP took aim at the two candidates, specifically Kharge on his age and candidature, implying that he would be a “proxy” and “remotely controlled”. Tharoor, meanwhile, found himself under attack over his poll manifesto with a distorted map of India that omitted part of Jamp;K and Ladakh.
‘Inspiring at 80!’
Mallikarjun Kharge at 80 is an inspiring choice for the Congress. He is young, energetic and just what the Congress needed to ensure its revival. Shashi Tharoor continues to hang in. Amit Malviya, BJP
“Mallikarjun Kharge at 80 is an inspiring choice for the Congress. He is young, energetic and just what the Congress needed to ensure its revival. He should just pick Dr Manmohan Singh’s manual on ‘Living by the Remote Control’ and it is all sorted,” tweeted BJP’s IT in-charge Amit Malviya. “Shashi Tharoor continues to hang in,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot lost favour with the ‘parivaar’ (Gandhis), the 80-year-old “becomes the chosen remote-controlled ‘proxy’ candidate, who is projected as an ‘official candidate'”.
Calling it a match “fixed for Kharge”, he alleged that Gandhis wanted to oust Gehlot as the Rajasthan Chief Minister on the basis of one person, one post but an exception was made for Kharge. “Did he quit as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha before nomination,” he questioned.
Tharoor, meanwhile, sparked a controversy after he released a manifesto that showed a map of India with parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh omitted. Though his office released a corrected version of the map, the mistake was caught and highlighted by social media.
Tharoor, on his part, made an unconditional apology for the error. Slamming “BJP trolls”, Tharoor wrote regarding “the troll storm on a manifesto map, no one does such things on purpose. A small team of volunteers made a mistake. We rectified it immediately and apologise unconditionally for the error”.