Heat on TNCC chief for preparing to host Kharge

CHENNAI: The impartiality veil of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has fallen apart as the state Congress, which kept conspicuously away from presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor’s visit last week, is making elaborate arrangements for the arrival of the other candidate, Mallikarjuna Kharge’s visit on Friday. The TNCC is making no secret of its involvement in the preparations for the arrival of Kharge, who is considered as the nominee of the Gandhis.

TNCC president KS Alagiri on Thursday inspected the arrangements made for the ‘visit’ at state party headquarters Sathyamurthy Bhavan and even posted photographs of the same on his official Twitter handle. Ironically, the same TNCC had feigned neutrality and cited the guidelines last week when journalists inquired about it not even intimating the visit of Tharoor or making arrangements for the event.

A TNCC general secretary on Thursday even circulated a statement elaborating the itinerary of Kharge. The extraordinary interest shown by TNCC for Friday’s visit did not go unnoticed by supporters of Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram who was one of the proposers of Tharoor. Pro-Tharoor supporters were busy circulating the guidelines issued by Madhusudan Mistry, returning officer of the Election of Cong president, who categorically stated that the PCC presidents shall extend courtesy to candidates and the functionaries must resign from their organisational posts if they wish to support any candidate.