Shashi Tharoor’s biblical post amid confusion over Congress poll choices

Congress has fielded Sunil Sharma from Jaipur Lok Sabha seat

New Delhi:

The Congress party’s list of candidates for the third Lok Sabha polls included big names like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, but it was Jaipur’s choice that grabbed the most headlines. Sunil Sharma, who was elected to a key seat by the party, has been the talk of the town in the past two days for his alleged links with the Jaipur Dialogue platform, which has ridiculed the Congress party and its Known as a leader.

clarify

Mr. Sharma issued a statement saying that although he participated in some panel discussions hosted by Jaipur Dialogue, he had no contact with the organization’s management.

I have no affiliation with Jaipur Conversation YouTube channel or Twitter account. This is completely fake news and disinformation aimed at weakening the prospects of the Congress party.

— Sunil Sharma (@I_SunilSharma) March 23, 2024

“I have never been involved in the management of the Jaipur Dialogue YouTube channel. I am often invited by TV channels and YouTube platforms as a panelist to address the views of the Congress. Likewise, Jaipur Dialogue invites me to speak on social issues and elaborate on them” Congressional Vision. I strongly opposed religious bigotry there,” he said in a statement in Hindi posted on X.

Social media users also shared a screenshot of Jaipur Dialogue Forum’s company profile, which names Sunil Sharma as director. In his clarification, the Congress candidate said he parted ways with the company long ago and now rumors are being spread with vested interests.

He also claimed that Jaipur Conversation Forum Company has no connection with the administrators of the YouTube profile “Jaipur Conversation”.

But the address and company profile on the Jaipur Dialogue website are the same. The website will jump to the Youtube page. In fact, Mr. Sharma appeared to claim that he was associated with the company but not its social media accounts.

A tale of two Sunil Sharmas

Mr. Sharma said in a statement that he participated in a panel discussion hosted by Jaipur Dialogue. Interestingly, the list of speakers for such an event organized in November included Sunil Sharma. While the photo shows the Congress leader, the description says he is “currently serving as Union Territory Secretary, Kashmir Division Chief and Doda Ramban”. Jammu and Kashmir now has a BJP leader and former minister, also named Sunil Sharma, who now holds the BJP post mentioned next to the Congress leader’s photo.

Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Pauline Epiphany’ jab

Amid confusion over the Congress party’s election, the party leader and its Thiruvananthapuram candidate Shashi Tharoor tagged Jaipur Dialogue’s posts targeting him. Mr Tharoor wondered how the man allegedly associated with the platform ended up on the Congress candidate list, posting, “He must have gone through some kind of pauling on his way to 24 Akbar An epiphany!”

He must have experienced some kind of Pauline epiphany on the way to 24 Akbar! This is just one of dozens of tweets he addressed attacking me:https://t.co/mJy9ZyBWG0https://t.co/3DjWW8dtbq

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 23, 2024

Although 24 Akbar Road is the address of the Congress headquarters, “Paul’s Epiphany” appears to refer to the New Testament event that led the Apostle Paul to stop persecuting Christians and become a follower of Jesus.