New Delhi: Reacting to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s ‘uneven playing field’ remark, senior leader and party presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that there are no differences between them. Earlier today, Shashi Tharoor had lamented that some leaders had openly come out in support of his poll opponent Mallikarjun Kharge and even summoned meetings in his favour, saying it disturbed the level-playing field.
‘…We are brothers. Someone can speak in a different manner. I can do it in a different way. There are no differences between us… Shashi Tharoor and I are from the same family that is Congress, instead of complaining to each other we would rather complain to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah regarding inflation, unemployment and other issues’ said Kharge on Tharoor’s uneven playing field remark.
He further alleged that dragging Gandhi family’s name in this poll is BJP’s conspiracy to defame them and some people are encouraging it. ‘I am a candidate of delegates. Leaders-delegates together fielded me as a candidate…dragging the Gandhi family’s name, I feel, is BJP’s conspiracy to defame them and some people are encouraging it. I condemn this. They said anybody can contest’, he added.
Notably, Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge are up against each other in the race for the post of Congress President. The election for the Congress’s top leadership is slated to conclude on October 17. The Congress leader further said that he believes in democracy and it is not good to talk about winning the elections ahead of it. With the Gandhis not running for the top post, the grand old party is all set to get a non-Gandhi president after over 25 years.
‘I am contesting for the presidential post, delegates are supposed to vote and whoever they will choose will be the next president of Congress party. I believe in democracy and it is not good to talk about winning the elections ahead of it. However, delegations from all the states have put their trust in me’, he said. He said that everybody has different manifestos ahead of elections if elected his focus will be on protecting the Congress’s ideology and Udaipur declaration. ‘Another focus will be on increasing women representation, backward class and minorities in the party’, he added.
Bharat Jodo Yatra is being done to keep the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s ideology and constitution alive which is being hampered by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Earlier, Tharoor has said he has been facing differential treatment from the party leaders as against his opponent Mallikarjun Kharge. On his ‘uneven playing field’ remark, Congress presidential candidate Tharoor said, ‘…In several PCCs, leaders welcomed and met Kharge Sahab. The same was not done for me. I visited PCCs but PCC chiefs were not available. I am not complaining, but do you not see a difference in treatment?’ He said his partymen should vote for him only if they are seeking a change in Congress.
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