THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when uncertainty looms large over Shashi Tharoor’s candidature in the next elections, his personal staff members clashed with party workers, including its district secretary, outside the venue of Congress’ poll preparatory meeting for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.
District Congress secretary Thampanoor Satheesh said Tharoor’s personal staff, including Praveen Ram, unleashed expletives and heckled him at the District Congress Committee (DCC) office where the meeting, attended by Tharoor, was underway.
The meeting was held under the aegis of former Pathanamthitta district chief P Mohanraj, who is currently in charge of election preparations in the Thiruvananthapuram LS constituency. When Tharoor arrived for the meeting, Satheesh urged Mohanraj not to allow the MP’s personal staff inside the meeting hall. Mohanraj conveyed the matter to Tharoor. Later, the personal staff exited the hall, apparently after Tharoor sent them a message over the mobile, to leave.
Satheesh told TNIE that he had to leave the meeting earlier due to the death of his neighbour. “When I got out of office, five to six persons belonging to Tharoor’s personal staff came and unleashed expletives on me,” he said.
“They also heckled me. On hearing the commotion, DCC leaders came out. Following the intervention of senior leaders, Tharoor managed to get into the car and left,” said Satheesh. “It was these personal staff, headed by Praveen Ram, who had always been preventing Tharoor from meeting local Congress leaders. I have been working for Tharoor’s victory for the past 14 years,” said Satheesh.
He said he will complain to state Congress president K Sudhakaran on Monday. Satheesh added that he will decide whether to move legally, depending on the outcome of his complaint. However, Praveen Ram did not respond to TNIE’s repeated calls.
The meeting on election preparations in the seven assembly segments under the Thiruvananthapuram LS constituency were being held over the past two days. On Sunday, local Congress workers from the Kazhakootam assembly segment expressed their displeasure to Tharoor when he left the meeting early.
Their grievance was mainly against Tharoor’s absence in his constituency during the 2020 local body election, pandemic time and Bharat Jodo Yatra. A local Congress leader told TNIE that Tharoor assured the agitated leaders that he would discuss the issues later.
