Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of four-time Congress Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, on Thursday said that Shashi Tharoor is welcome to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if he wants to, implying that he already knows how he has been treated in the Congress party.
"There is no need to extend an invitation to him—he already knows how he is being dealt with in the Congress party. He can come to the BJP anytime," remarked Padmaja. Recalling her previous dealings with Tharoor at Congress sessions, she mentioned questioning him on his continuous absences, to which he supposedly replied that he was seldom invited and never heard about such events.
Vindicated in her long-time contention that Tharoor had been pushed out within Congress, she said, "Everything that I indicated when I quit the party has been reinforced by Tharoor over the last few days. He has no future within Congress. I quit for position or power—I quit for peace of mind, which I possess now. There will be no actual change that the coming meeting of Congress leaders from states, in which Delhi-bound Tharoor too will participate, will usher."
Tharoor was recently criticized by top state Congress leaders after his article in an English daily, where he eulogized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
In spite of the rumors, Tharoor has made it clear that he has no plans to join the BJP. Last week, he was called for a behind-the-scenes meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
In the meantime, fresh reports on Thursday indicate Tharoor is likely to be given the Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha job.
Padmaja had separated from Congress earlier after Anil Antony, the son of retired Defence Minister A.K. Antony, defected to the BJP. While Anil was offered the party nomination to fight on the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency, Padmaja was denied a ticket.
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