As the Congress is all set to make its public rally on the Kozhikode beach on November 23 to extend support to the Palestinian people a grand event, speculation is still rife if Shashi Tharoor, party working committee member and MP, will attend it or not.
Mr. Tharoor had stirred up a controversy on October 26 at another pro-Palestine rally organised by party ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), when he referred to the Hamas action on Israel on October 7 as a “terrorist attack” that led to a “disproportionate response”.
It was interpreted as a statement favouring Israel and portraying the Palestinian resistance in a bad light.
Though M.K. Muneer, MLA, and M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, MP, countered Mr. Tharoor on the same stage, it snowballed into a controversy with a section within the CPI(M) and K.T. Jaleel, Left Independent MLA, targeting the IUML and the Congress MP.
Tharoor’s clarification
Subsequently, even after Mr. Tharoor came up with a clarification that he had always stood with the Palestinian people, the damage had been done.
The Congress’s stand on the Gaza siege too came under the lens, with the CPI(M) accusing the party of changing its traditional pro-Palestine stand to favour Israeli interests.
The ruling party organised a public rally in support of Palestine in Kozhikode on November 11. Eventually, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee announced that it would also hold a public rally, at Kozhikode on November 23 upholding the Palestinian cause.
However, it is still not clear if Mr. Tharoor will make it to the event.
According to reports, the Thiruvananthapuram MP has expressed his inconvenience as he has to attend a family wedding. Some Congress leaders don’t want him on the stage as it could hurt the feelings of the IUML whose backing is needed for winning Lok Sabha seats such as Kozhikode, Vadakara and Wayanad.
K. Muraleedharan, Congress MP for Vadakara, has already said that Mr. Tharoor should correct his statement, adding that it was up to the organisers to invite him.
DCC stand
Kozhikode District Congress Committee president K. Praveenkumar told The Hindu on Wednesday: “Mr. Tharoor is a senior leader of our party. There is no question of him not attending it. The list of participants will be out in two days.”
M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, who is considered close to Mr. Tharoor, said: “He told me he would definitely attend the meeting despite some family engagements.”
Meanwhile, the district administration is yet to officially give permission to the event on the Kozhikode beach.
There was high drama when the district administration initially refused to allow the organisers to use Freedom Square as the venue as the State government’s ‘Navakerala Sadassu’ is scheduled next to it on November 25.
The Congress claimed that the alternative place suggested by the officials was inconvenient and accused the CPI(M) of playing politics over the issue.
Hectic parleys followed between Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, district administration, and the Congress leadership and another venue was chosen.
