A social media post targetting Shashi Tharoor has put the Congress in Kerala in further embarrassment amid the ongoing controversies over the Thiruvananthapuram MP's political tour. The post, which appeared on a Facebook page in the name of Kottayam DCC (District Congress Committee) on Monday, insulted Tharoor, without naming him, in harsh terms while hailing DCC president Nattakom Suresh as a politician who climbed up the party ranks through hard work.
"Nattakom Suresh is not someone who came to the Congress by doing the dishes in Sonia Gandhi's kitchen and was airdropped with a Parliament seat. He was only 25 when he became the president of Nattakom panchayat after ending the CPM's monopoly there," the post reads. It went on to list out the party posts he held at various levels before becoming the DCC chief.
The post was deleted after it triggered a controversy and drew flak from Tharoor supporters. His followers in Kottayam are reportedly planning to file a complaint with the party leadership against the post.
Suresh, meanwhile, distanced himself from the post saying the Facebook account is not DCC's official page. Tharoor supporters, however, challenged the claim citing the phone number given on the page belongs to Suresh.
DCC president had recently come out against Tharoor saying he was not informed about the latter's events in Kottayam district. He had also stayed away from a Youth Congress event at Erattupetta where Tharoor was the chief guest.
Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, who has surprisingly stood with Tharoor in the recent controversies, said Suresh need not owe an explanation on the issue. "The controversies are unfortunate. Party's Political Affairs Committee will discuss it. The party will only benefit from Tharoor attending different programmes," he said.
The FB post controversy erupted at a time when Tharoor is attending a series of programmes in central and southern Kerala after his Malabar tour. Tharoor's aggressive state tour has irked a section of party leadership which views it as part of his attempt to position himself as a potential chief ministerial face of the Congress.
Tharoor on Monday morning visited Cardinal Mar George Alencherry in Kochi. He had attended several public events in Kottayam and Pathanamthitta in the past two days.
