Karti Chidambaram touts 'years in politics' as TN Congress neta belittles him as a dynast

Days after disapproving the organizational changes in Congress' Tamil Nadu unit, in yet another sign of dissent within the party, Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram has explained his stance. This comes after TN Congress general secretary K Mahendran slammed Karti Chidambaram and called him a dynast. Explaining his stance, Karti has said, "The size of this committee is problematic. No one will be given any specific job, so there will be no responsibility or authority." The Sivaganga MP also slammed Mahendran and said that those who criticise him due to his father do not take into account his years in politics.

Responding to a tweet, Karti said, "It’s the size of the committee which is an issue. There can be no functional responsibility, hence no accountability. This bogey of being a beneficiary bcoz of my father, it's the easiest barb to throw at me. It's a lazy comment & doesn't take into account my years in politics."

READ | Karti Chidambaram pans organizational changes in TN Congress, flags lack of accountability

On January 2, Congress president Sonia Gandhi appointed 32 vice presidents, 57 general secretaries, a treasurer, 104 secretaries, 61 executive committee members, 32 DCC presidents, 39 Pradesh election committee members, 19 election co-ordination committee members, 38 election propaganda committee members, 31 publicity committee members, 24 manifesto committee members, 16 media coordination committee members and 6 election team members. It was then that Karti criticised his own party openly and said that these jumbo committees serve no purpose, and contended that none of the members will have any authority which will lead to a lack of accountability. Incidentally, the Congress MP has been included in the Executive Committee, Pradesh Election Committee, Election Coordination Committee and Manifesto Committee. 

READ | Karti Chidambaram predicts alliance between Rajinikanth, OPS & BJP: 'plan to split AIADMK'

Dissent within the Congress party

The Congress MP's dissent assumes significance as his father P Chidambaram had openly expressed concerns about the party's functioning after the loss in the Bihar Assembly election. In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi on August, 23 senior party leaders observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival.

Despite the high-octane drama at the CWC meeting, it was decided that the Rae Bareli MP will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened. Finally, Gandhi met some of the dissenters for the first time on December 19. 

READ | Karti Chidambaram reacts to Rajinikanth's U-turn, questions future of film star's aides

READ | Now, Karti Chidambaram called dynast by TN Congress neta; 'became MP because of father'