Congress is now facing the resentment of party leaders over its Rajya Sabha picks. (Representational)
A Congress leader's tweet against a party leader has once again underlined the fissures over a rule that critics say makes exceptions for top leaders.
Praveen Chakravarty, the Congress's data head, appeared to take shots at the party's Maharashtra chief Nana Patole in his tweet this morning.
On Wednesday, Nana Patole had stressed that in Maharashtra, the party would enforce a "One person one post" policy adopted in the Udaipur "Chintan Shivir". Office bearers with more than one post would quit their additional posts.
Flagging a newspaper report, Praveen Chakravarty highlighted the word "worker" in the headline and wrote: "No worker will hold more than one post". Applies only to 'workers'!"
Speaking to NDTV, he said he was only pointing out the rule was "meant for all and not just for workers". He insisted that this had nothing to do with his not being named for Rajya Sabha.
Praveen Chakravarty, a member of Rahul Gandhi's core team, was seen to be a strong contender for a Rajya Sabha seat but his name was missing from the Congress list. He has been heading the party's digital membership. He was controversial for his projections during the 2019 national election, which fell wide off the mark with the Congress getting pulverized.
But outbursts like this are no longer rare in the Congress, which has seen much internal churning over the past two years and is currently facing the resentment of party leaders over its Rajya Sabha picks.
During the Udaipur session to discuss a revival plan for the party after its serial election defeats, there was criticism about the party adopting rules with exceptions that apparently benefit the Gandhis, among others - for example, the "One Family, One Ticket" rule.
The 10 Rajya Sabha names announced by the Congress on Sunday missed some big names and nominated leaders from states that don't belong to, which has upset local Congress units in many states.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, who failed to make the cut for Rajasthan despite buzz, went public with his disappointment and posted: "Maybe there is something missing in my tapasya (penance)." Responding to his post, another Congress leader, Nagma, wrote: "Our 18 years of penance also fell short in front of Imran Bhai." She was referring to Imran Pratapgarhi being named as a candidate from Maharashtra, her state.
Two days ago, Congress MP Manish Tewari also seemed to take a swipe at the choice of candidates and said Rajya Sabha had become a parking lot.
"In my personal opinion, Rajya Sabha has stopped carrying out the functions for which it was constituted. Rajya Sabha has now become a parking lot. It needs to be examined whether or not the country needs Rajya Sabha now," he said to ANI.