Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Revanth Reddy on Friday apologised and withdrew his statement on calling Congress MP Shashi Tharoor ‘donkey’, “I spoke to Shri Shashi Tharoor ji to convey that I hereby withdraw the remarks and reiterate that I hold my senior colleague in the highest regard,” Reddy tweeted on Thursday. “I regret any hurt that may have been caused to him by my words. We share our faith in the values and policies of the Congress Party,” he further added.
Telangana Congress Chief A Revanth Reddy called Congress MP Shahi Tharoor donkey after Tharoor’s recent visit to Hyderabad. TPCC chief was unknown of Tharoor’s visit and therefore made the statement. He had also said that if Shashi Tharoor’s fluency in English doesn’t make him knowledgeable.
Reddy had earlier denied the remarks and accused Telangana IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao of lying and tweeting “fake news”.
The statement triggered a storm on Twitter, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari had said: “It would have been better if you (Reddy) would have spoken to him if you had some misgivings about a purported statement of his. Grace & Propriety demands you withdraw your words.”
Senior party leader Rajiv Arora condemned the remarks of Mr Reddy, “I condemn derogatory remarks by Shri Revanth Reddy PCC president Telangana for AIPC president and senior congress MP Shashi Tharoor as reported by a section of press. He should issue a statement withdrawing his remarks,” he tweeted, tagging J Geeta Reddy, the regional coordinator of the party.
Responding to Reddy’s tweet, Tharoor said that he had received a “gracious call” from the party leader apologising for what was said. “I accept his expression of regret and am happy to put this unfortunate episode behind us,” he wrote.
According to a recent media report, Reddy called Tharoor a ‘donkey’ and said that he hoped he would be expelled from the party. His comment triggered a political firestorm, with several senior Congress leaders slamming Reddy for speaking against his colleague.
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