New Delhi: Shashi Tharoor is calling a spade a spade in the run-up to the Congress presidential election.
Considered to be the underdog against Mallikarjun Kharge in the two-horse race, Tharoor has said said time and again that Congress members should vote for him if they want a change in the party.
Now, he has spoken of an uneven playing field and a difference in treatment meted out to Kharge and him.
“I have seen in many places, the PCC (Pradesh Congress Chief), CLP (Congress Legislature Party) leaders and big leaders welcome Mallikarjun Kharge, sit with him, invite people and tell them to be present. All this happened for one candidate but never for me,” Tharoor said.
“I visited the state Congress committee, and the state chiefs were not available. I am not complaining, but do you not see a difference in treatment?” he remarked.
Tharoor also mentioned that he had received an incomplete list of Congress delegates who will be voting in the October 17 polls, as there were no phone numbers on the list.
“I got two lists. The first list did not have phone numbers, so how could one get in touch with the delegates? I am not saying this is deliberate, but there were no elections for 22 years, so there have been some lapses,” Tharoor said, adding that he was depending on the media to help him reach out to voters and convey his manifesto to them.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP added that he was not casting aspersions against Madhusudan Mistry, the Congress central election authority chairman.
“I know Madhusudan Mistry and his team are trying to hold a free and fair election. I am not complaining against him,” said Tharoor.
“Some leaders have shown bias, that’s what I meant when I said it is not a level playing field,” he clarified.
