Amid reported differences over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign, party general secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday (August 9) advised party leaders to exercise restraint in their public statements and avoid remarks that could be used to the BJP’s advantage.
Venugopal was responding to questions from reporters about Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s reported comments that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ initiative had failed to attract as much attention among Gen Z as the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ protests. Venugopal said he had come across the remarks only through media reports and had not heard Tharoor’s comments himself.
Venugopal backs Tharoor
He said Tharoor’s comments should be put to him directly, but added that Congress leaders should be careful while making public statements. “Even if Congress members do not always strictly abide by party frameworks or discipline, we must be careful to avoid making statements that merely appease the BJP,” Venugopal said.
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“The BJP will be delighted if someone finds fault with Rahul Gandhi or says two negative things about him, it would be the happiest thing for them,” he said.
Venugopal said he did not believe Tharoor had made such remarks deliberately.
Tharoor’s remarks
Tharoor had on Friday, while speaking at an event in Maharashtra, said that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki goonj’ programme had raised the same issues as the Cockroach Janata Party.
On being asked that the ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ rallies did not resonate as much as the one at Jantar Mantar did, Tharoor said, “Correct. And that’s why we need to ask ourselves what we failed to do.” “Did we fail to listen? Did we fail to tap into the old cliché of having our finger on the pulse of the people? Was our finger missing from the pulse of Gen Z. That’s something we really need to interrogate”.
Tharoor on Saturday claimed that the media was interpreting his statement as “an attack on my own party or its leadership”.
Cautions party workers
“All of us should take care, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and I don’t believe he said it knowingly, nor is he likely to say it intentionally, to refrain from making such remarks,” Venugopal said.
He said Rahul Gandhi’s programme in Allahabad had drawn participation from India’s Gen Z and alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government made efforts to disrupt the event.
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“Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried their best to disrupt that event in Allahabad. They even spread human waste along the path leading to the venue,” he alleged.
‘Real Gen Z’
Venugopal said the venue was initially denied after pressure was allegedly exerted on the college management, and later permitted, but unsanitary conditions were created along the route.
“But what was the scene witnessed there yesterday, in Allahabad? Those were not typical Congress workers, Youth Congress, or NSUI members. That was India’s real Gen Z,” he said.
He said similar participation was witnessed in Kota and Dehradun.
Rahul’s support for students
Venugopal said Rahul had taken up the cause of students who had allegedly faced police action during protests. “You might have seen who was the first to present the student affected by pellet guns to the public? Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi to youth at Chhatron Ki Goonj: Your potential is India’s biggest strength
He also referred to a protest march led by Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders towards the Prime Minister’s residence in solidarity with students who participated in the protests.
“Expressing solidarity with the students who participated in that protest, the Leader of the Opposition and all of us marched right up to the Prime Minister’s residence, in a manner never seen before in India. That was one of the largest protest marches the country has closely watched. It was for Gen Z,” Venugopal said.