‘Tukde tukde’, ‘not a big part’: How BJP, Congress reacted to Tharoor skipping AICC meeting

TAking a dig out at united states congress MP Shashi Tharoor skipping the company get together yesterday, Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday said that the Congress party is in ‘tukde tukde’ mode and that it is divided into two parts.“Once again, Congress is in Tukde Tukde mode - divided in 2 parts, just like in Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan or Rahul Congress vs Priyanka Congress,” news agency ANI reported, quoting Poonawalla, who alleged that the party's ministers have no confidence in the leadersTharoor skipped the AICC meeting in Delhi due to a prior commitment at the Kerala Literature Festival, where he spoke about his recent book ‘Sree Narayana Guru’, according to an ANI report.Earlier in May 2025, the MP had faced criticism from leaders of other political parties for being a part of the multi-party delegation on Operation Sindoor. The delegation travelled to several countries to put forward India's stance after the Pahalgam terror attack.Poonawalla's claimPoonawalla alleged that Congress is ‘angry’ with Tharoor because he kept the national interest above Rahul Gandhi's ‘lies’, wished LK Advani on his birthday and took a stand in favour of the nation.“They are so angry that they issued a fatwa against him. As a natural reaction, Dr Tharoor is also skipping the party events,” Poonawalla said.Further elaborating on his claim, Poonawalla added that the ‘fight’ between Congress and Tharoor had crossed all limits and that it is sidelining and humiliating him.Congress MP's sharp jibe at Rahul missing out on TharoorAlthough Congress leaders have reiterated that there is “no difference of opinion” with Shashi Tharoor and the central leadership after the recent incidents, Congress MP Imran Masood on Saturday said that Tharoor is not a major part.When asked about Rahul Gandhi's omission of Tharoor's name at the Mahapanchayat in Kochi, Masood pressed on Gandhi's claim that Shashi Tharoor was not visible to him.“Shashi Tharoor is not a big part. Nahi dikhe toh nahi dikhe, aisa kuch hai nahi,” which translates to ‘If he was not visible, he was not visible. There is nothing like that’, Masood told news agency ANI. What had happened on January 19?Although Tharoor had informed Rahul Gandhi, his absence at the AICC meeting in Delhi came a few days after he was ‘ignored’ by the Congress supremo at the party's Mahapanchayat held in Kochi on January 19.Before the Mahapanchayat held in Kochi on January 19, Tharoor said that only Rahul Gandhi would speak at the event. When Tharoor was still addressing, Gandhi came on stage. The Thiruvananthapuram MP was asked to wind up even though six more speakers addressed the gathering in Gandhi's presence, according to a PTI report citing sources close to Tharoor.Shortly afterwards, during Rahul Gandhi's speech, he took the names of 12 leaders but missed Tharoor, who was sitting in the same row. Gandhi, who also greeted multiple party leaders along with KC Venugopal, did not directly greet Tharoor.Tharoor had pointed out the ‘mistreatment’ and had sent messages to key Congress functionaries, including KC Venugopal and Deepa Das Munshi.(With agency inputs)