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'Clarification, not confrontation': Shashi Tharoor after Congress' fair election promise
Shashi Tharoor said the 'unseemly' controversy broke out after the 'malicious leak' of their private letter to Madhusudan Mistry. He said he was pleased with the clarification that Mistry offered.
As the Congress on Saturday allayed the concerns of some Congressmen including Shashi Tharoor who is likely to be contesting the presidential election, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said all he and his colleagues were doing was only seeking clarification, not confrontation. The letter that 5 MPs wrote to Madhusudan Mistry, the head of the Congress's internal poll panel, was maliciously leaked leading to controversy, Tharoor said on Saturday. Tharoor said he spoke to Madhusudan Mistry on Saturday morning to end the "unseemly controversy" that had arisen after the "malicious leak" of a private letter from 5 MPs to him. "I stressed that as loyal Congressmen we were seeking clarification, not confrontation," he said.
In the wake of the concerns expressed by the five MPs, including Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram, Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque, the Congress announced some first-time measures for the internal election which is slated to be held on October 17.
Manish Tewari was the first leader to have asked the authorities to publish the list of names who would participate in the voting process. The demand gathered support from the other MPs and was seen as a rebellion coinciding with the exit of former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad from the party.
In the joint letter, the 5 MPs said if there is any concerns with releasing the electoral rolls publicly, then the central election authority must put in place a mechanism to securely share the information with the electors and the potential candidates.
Following Mistry's letter to the five MPs announcing the new measures, Tharoor set the record clear that as loyal Congressmen, what they were seeking was clarification and not confrontation. "I am pleased that this clarification has come in the form of his constructive reply to our letter. In view of these assurances, I am satisfied. Many will be glad to move on with an election process that in my view will only strengthen the party," Tharoor said.
5 things Congress announced ahead of the election to its president post
1. For the first time, the Congress will issue QR code-based cards to all delegates in all states and UTs where there are Congress committees.
2. Those who want to file a nomination should check if they have a delegate identity card available with them. Only people with valid identity cards will be allowed to sign on the nomination papers for the position of Congress president.
3. To file the nomination for the president election, the candidate will have to look for the names of 10 supporters in their state.
4. If a candidate wants to get these 10 supporters from different states, the list of all 9,000+ delegates will be available at the Delhi party office from September 20.
5. Once the nomination is signed and handed over to the chief returning officer, they will get the entire list of delegates.
