‘Don’t give statements that please BJP’:Venugopal cautions Congress leaders after Tharoor’s remarks on Rahul’s student programme

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday urged party leaders to refrain from making statements that could please the BJP. He was responding to senior leader Shashi Tharoor’s remarks about Rahul Gandhi. According to media reports, Tharoor said at an event on Friday that Rahul Gandhi’s Students’ programme had failed to make as much impact among Gen Z as the protests led by the ‘Cockroach Janta Party. Venugopal said he had only read reports of Tharoor’s remarks in the media and had not heard exactly what he said. He added that Tharoor should be asked directly about his comments. Venugopal says caution is needed while making public statements Venugopal said he did not believe Tharoor had made the remarks intentionally. “We all need to be careful, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We need to exercise caution when making public statements,” he said. Venugopal added that if anyone criticises Rahul Gandhi or makes negative remarks about him, the BJP would be “very happy”, calling it the “happiest thing” for the party. August 7: Tharoor says, ‘We need to ask where we went wrong’ At an event in Maharashtra on Friday, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Students’ Echo’ programme raised the same issues as those highlighted by the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’. Asked why the ‘Students’ Echo’ rallies had failed to make the same impact as the event at Jantar Mantar, Tharoor said, “Right. So we should ask ourselves what we failed to do.” He added, “Did we fail to listen to the students? Did we fail to live up to the old adage of keeping our finger on the pulse of the people? Have we lost touch with Generation Z? We must seriously consider this.” August 8: Tharoor says his remarks were interpreted as an attack on the party As the controversy escalated, Tharoor wrote on X on Saturday that the media was portraying his remarks as an “attack on his own party or its leadership”. He clarified that his main point was that political parties should open their doors and create opportunities for the next generation to participate in politics and help shape its future.