As the congress presidential polls draws closer, Thiruvanthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who is in the fray for Congress President, on Sunday said that he represented a change in the party which a leader like Mallikarjun Kharge could not bring.
While addressing the party workers at Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Nagpur, he said that the Congress presidential polls are not war, but only he can bring the required changes in the party. “We are not enemies, it’s not war. Some people are saying that Kharge Ji is a senior leader, and why don’t I get out of the race for him? I respect Kharge Ji, but it’s a poll for our party and its future. There are differences in the way we want to take the party forward,” Tharoor said.
“Kharge Ji is a part of our leadership, and other than the Gandhi family he is among the top three leaders of the Congress party. But leaders like him can’t bring change and will continue the existing system. I will bring the change as per the expectations of party workers”; Tharoor further added.
Tharoor stressed that the contest between him and Kharge is “not a battle” and it should be left upon the congress workers to choose between the two. “This isn’t a battle…Let party workers choose, that’s our message. I’m saying that if you’re satisfied with the party’s work, vote for Kharge Sahab. If you want a change, I’m there. But there is no ideological problem. There will not be any change in the message of the Congress party” he said.
Noting that the Central leadership in the party is taking all the decisions, Tharoor emphasised on giving rights to the lower levels of the organisation to take decisions. “All the decisions are being taken in New Delhi these days. It would be good for the party if the right to take decisions is given to the grassroots at the levels of the blocks, Zilla and states”; he said.
In the manifesto he released by Tharoor, shortly after filing his nomination, he mentioned the need for decentralization in the party. Talking about his decision to run for the party’s top post, he said that he intended to contest when the election was announced, backed by the party workers.
Tharoor and Kharge are up against each other in the race for the post of Congress president.