• Source:JND
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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has yet again stirred a political row with an article on nepotism in Indian politics, which is unlikely to go well with his party.

The BJP took no time to draw from Tharoor's piece to corner Congress and Rahul Gandhi, saying that he directly called out 'Nepo Kids or Nawabs of Nepotism'

In an article titled 'Indian Politics Are A Family Business', Tharoor argues that the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty has towered over Indian politics, which has cemented an idea that political leadership can be a birthright.

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. This idea has penetrated Indian politics across every party, in every region, and at every level."

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He went on to say that those having no direct heirs hae selected their nephews, such as Mamtata Banerjee and Mayawati.

Pushing for a change towards meritocracy, he argued, "It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit. As long as Indian politics remain a family enterprise, the true promise of democracy—‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’—cannot be fully realised".

Reacting to it, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called the article very insightful and a direct attack on "India's nepo kid Rahul and Chota nepo kid Tejashwi Yadav."

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He also called the Thiruvananthapuram MP 'Khatron ke Khiladi,' adding a warning, "Sir, when I called out Nepo Naamdar Rahul Gandhi in 2017 - you know what happened to me". Hitting out at Gandhi family, he said, "Sir praying for you. First family is very vengeful."

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