Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, October 14
Infighting in the Mumbai unit of the Congress became worse on Monday with Sanjay Nirupam purportedly targeting party colleague Milind Deora on social media over former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s rallies in Mumbai on Sunday.
“Speculations and 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 and he will be always the same for me. But why was Nikamma absent?” Nirupam tweeted.
Though Nirupam did not name Deora in his tweet, the former had called the latter ‘nikamma’ (useless) in media interviews and blamed the Congress party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections to the latter’s leadership of its city unit.
Speculations & suspicions about my absence in RG’s Mumbai rallies are meaningless.
— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) October 14, 2019
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 ?
Nirupam had earlier withdrawn from the Congress party’s campaign for the Maharashtra’s Assembly election after the only candidate he recommended for a ticket from Mumbai was overlooked by the party.
The rift between Nirupam and Deora first came to light when former actress Urmila Matondkar who unsuccessfully contested from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat quit the party citing infighting in the city unit of the party over petty issues.