Mumbai: The rift in the Maharashtra Congress was once again on display on Monday when senior leader Sanjay Nirupam hit out at Milind Deora, a day after the absence of both the leaders at former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s rally in the state raised eyebrows.
Taking to Twitter, Nirupam said the speculations over his absence from Gandhi’s rally were baseless as he had informed the latter about skipping the event.
He, however, questioned why “nikamma” was missing from the event. The statement is being seen as a dig at Milind Deora, who Nirupam has been at loggerheads with.
Speculations & suspicions about my absence in RG’s Mumbai rallies are meaningless.Due to an important family function I was very busy whole day,rather till late night.Had informed him in advance.He is my leader & he will be always the same for me.But why was Nikamma absent ?— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) October 14, 2019
The infighting came to the fore after actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar quit the party after the poll debacle, blaming her failure on two local Congress leaders who were close to Nirupam.
Siding with Matondkar, Deora tweeted: “After Urmila Matondkar decided to fight Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North, I supported her campaign wholeheartedly as Mumbai Congress president. I stood by her when she was let down by those who brought her into the party. Fully agree that Mumbai North leaders MUST be held accountable.”
As in 2014, Deora lost to Union minister Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena from the Mumbai South seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Following Deora’s resignation, Nirupam had accused the former MP of hankering for a national-level post. Nirupam had also criticised Deora's suggestion to set up a panel comprising three senior Congress leaders to oversee the Mumbai unit till the Maharashtra Assembly polls, saying such a move would "ruin" the party further.
In the latest, Nirupam has refused to campaign for the upcoming state polls on October 21 after his suggestion for a candidate was rejected. Speaking to CNN-News18, he said, "Being a senior member of the Congress party, I deserve some respect. I only suggested one name for the Maharashtra assembly polls, that too was rejected. Three lists have been released till now, I had already told the senior leadership that if that name is not given the ticket, I won't be taking part in the election campaign. If this is indiscipline, the party can take action against me".
Criticising the top leadership, Nirupam said, "The future of Congress in Mumbai is very bad as incompetent people are on the driving seat."
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