Congress leadership unhappy over Tharoor's CJP comparison; KC Venugopal responds to MP

NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership has expressed strong displeasure over MP Shashi Tharoor's comparison of the party with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), criticising the remarks as an attempt to undermine Rahul Gandhi's interventions. Congress organisation general secretary KC Venugopal has warned Tharoor over the remarks.

Venugopal said Tharoor should refrain from making statements that only suit the BJP. He was referring to Rahul Gandhi's interventions and press conferences regarding student protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party.
Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi was the one who brought the attack on students using pellet guns to the attention of the public. He also said the protest held outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence was for Gen Z and questioned why Tharoor was unwilling to recognise these interventions.

Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor has offered an explanation for his controversial remarks. He said his words had been distorted by the media and interpreted as an attack on the party and its leadership.

Tharoor made the remarks during a discussion programme held in Mumbai on Wednesday. He had said the Congress should examine whether it had been able to listen to Gen Z. Tharoor had criticised the Congress, saying the CJP had managed to become the voice of Gen Z, while the Congress had failed to reflect their concerns.
Rahul Gandhi had also taken up issues concerning the students, Tharoor said. However, he said his interventions had not been as effective as those of the CJP. Tharoor further said mainstream political parties would become irrelevant if they failed to listen to young people.
Congress leaders publicly expressed their displeasure after Tharoor's remarks triggered controversy.