Karti free to join AAP: TN Congress chief

Chennai, Feb 12: In a resumption of war of words, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E V K S Elangovan on Thursday said Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union minister P Chidambaram, was free to join AAP "if he was admitted" in that party.

After AAP's spectacular win, Karti, in a veiled reference to Elangovan had tweeted that a "credible leader was needed and many lessons for us to learn in Tamil Nadu Congress."

Reacting, Elangovan said rather than looking for a leader like Kejriwal in Congress or other parties, it will be good if Karti joined the AAP and if that party admitted him.

"Karti has said that Congress should groom a leader like Kejriwal. Why should he search for such a leader in Congress or other parties?" Elangovan asked and added that it will be good if he joined the party helmed by Kejriwal. In his tweet, Karti had said "lessons from #AAPSweep, no one is invincible, state politics needs a credible leader n an agenda. People want leadership at their doorstep."

In another tweet, he had said, "Congrats #AAP on a fabulous win. Many lessons to learn for the Congress particularly for us in the #TNCC. Need a face n an agenda. Will we?" An obviously piqued Elangovan, who last month slapped a show cause notice on Karti for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meet of his supporters "G-67" told reporters that though he considered last month's episode as a "story that had ended, it reared its head often".

Elangovan and Karti are at loggerheads after the G-67 meeting in which Karti had spoken about "what needs to be done for Congress to turn around".

Replying to the show cause notice, Karti had questioned Elangovan's authority to issue it and said it was a private meeting of his supporters where nothing was spoken against the party. Also, since he was an AICC member only the Central leadership could initiate action, he had said.

The bickering escalated after Jayanthi Natarajan quit the party, and Elangovan, without naming P Chidambaram, said, it will be good "if a leader and his heir quits the party." He was reportedly censured for his remarks by the party high command.

PTI