The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a sharp attack against the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor termed dynastic politics a “grave threat” to Indian democracy.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took a jibe at the Congress and the RJD, saying Tharoor wrote the article based on his own ‘experience.’
“I welcome the statement of Shashi Tharoor. Whatever he said must be correct. He would have said this on the basis of his experience. His remarks will obviously hurt the Congress party and the RJD because their politics are limited to a family. They cannot think outside their family,” Pradhan said
Tharoor has criticised “dynastic” politics in India, terming it a “grave threat” to democracy, and said it is “high time” the nation moves towards “meritocracy”.
In an article titled ‘Indian Politics Are a Family Business’ on Project Syndicate portal, Tharoor termed “dynastic politics, a threat to Indian democracy”, and argued that India must move to “merit-based leadership”, a view that may be seen as a swipe at the Congress high command and its INDIA bloc allies like Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Shiv Sena (UBT).
In the NDA, Tharoor said that the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party, Ram Vilas Paswan, was succeeded by his son, Chirag Paswan.
From Nehru to Priyanka
With just two days left for the Bihar assembly polls, Tharoor wrote that, from India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current leaders Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the idea has been strengthened that leadership in Indian politics can be a “birthright”.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the article rightly exposes how the Gandhi family turned Indian politics into a “family business.”
While talking to ANI, Poonawalla said, “A very insightful piece has been written by Dr Tharoor on how Indian politics has become family business and in the opening of that piece he has explained how the first family of Congress party, the Gandhi-Vadra dynasty has been responsible for cementing this negative thought that political position and power can be a matter of birth right.”
Poonawalla said Tharoor’s piece will make RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi uncomfortable.
“Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi may take his article very personally… Dr Tharoor should be applauded, but now he will get a series of bad words and insults from Kerala Congress and other leaders,” he further added.
How did Congress leaders respond?
The Congress party claimed that dynastic politics exists across party lines and also hailed the leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Congress leader Udit Raj said that dynastic influence pervades all sectors in India, including politics, business, the judiciary, and the film industry, adding that this trend restricts opportunities to a select few families.
“A dynastic approach exists in almost every sector in India, a doctor’s son becomes a doctor, a businessman’s child continues in business, and politics is no exception. Also, if a politician has a criminal background, it reflects the reality of our society. Election tickets are often distributed along caste and family lines,” Raj told news agency ANI.
“From Naidu to Pawar, DMK to Mamata, Mayawati to Amit Shah’s son, there are many such examples. The loss is that opportunities remain confined to families alone. Dynastic influence is not limited to politics; it extends to the bureaucracy, judiciary, and even the film industry,” he added.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari defended the Nehru-Gandhi family, saying that the leadership comes from “merit”
“Leadership always comes from merit. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the most capable Prime Minister of this country… Indira Gandhi proved herself by sacrificing her life. Rajiv Gandhi served this country by sacrificing his life. So, if someone talks about the Gandhi family as a dynasty, then which other family in India had the sacrifice, dedication, and ability that this family possessed? Was it the BJP?” Congress MP said.
The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, sparked a row as he wrote, “For decades, one family has towered over Indian politics. The influence of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty – including independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – is bound up with the history of India’s struggle for freedom. But it has also cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright.”
Earlier, Tharoor had been questioned by Congress leaders after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and criticised US President Donald Trump, following the Tharoor-led delegation’s visit to the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia after Operation Sindoor.
The Congress leader had written a piece saying, PM Modi’s ‘energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remain a prime asset for India on the global stage, but deserve greater backing”.
