Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy on Thursday tendered an apology in the wake of the political storm that erupted after calling Congress MP Shashi Tharoor a ‘donkey’. He withdrew his comment. Revanth had gone to Bengaluru to attend the funeral of Oscar Fernandes. He initially refused to say anything about his objectionable remarks. Even Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao was called a liar for tweeting ‘fake news’, but his audio clip went viral, forcing him to apologise.
Reddy tweeted, ‘I have spoken to Shashi Tharoor ji to inform that I withdraw my remarks and reiterate that I give the highest respect to my senior colleague.’ He expressed regret for any hurt caused to Tharoor by his words.
Shashi Tharoor acknowledges apology
Later, replying to the tweet, Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor said on Twitter, “I was called by Revanth Reddy and apologized for what was said. I accept his expression of regret and am happy to leave this unfortunate episode behind.
Reddy also wrote, ‘And I know that he will come and join the Congress to get public support to form the next government in Telangana.’
Shashi Tharoor took the comment in a funny way
Revanth had targeted Shashi Tharoor for praising the TRS government. In a tweet, Tharoor reacted to Revanth’s remarks in his own unique way, calling it an “inappropriate response” as an “expression of the spirit of brotherhood”.
Revanth Reddy’s audio went viral
Here the audio of Revanth went viral in which he was calling Shashi Tharoor a ‘donkey’. Revanth in the viral video said, “He who has praised the IT Minister should also know about the state of affairs here. That donkey should have been tagged (in the tweet). If both speak to each other in English, it won’t bring any change here.” KTR posted this audio clip of Revanth. He wrote, ‘As the chairman of the IT Standing Committee, Shashi Tharoor had recently received some praise for the efforts of the state government, his colleague in Parliament and the PCC calling him a donkey. This happens when you have a third class criminal or thug leading the party.
Congress furious at Revanth Reddy
Tharoor clarified that he was in Hyderabad for the parliamentary panel meeting and his comments were limited to appreciating the government’s work in the IT sector. Congress sources said the party high command has taken serious note of Revanth Reddy’s criticism of a senior MP like Tharoor. People of his own party are already complaining against Revanth for his language, tone and attitude.
Manish Tiwari said – Revanth could talk
Party MP and former Union minister Manish Tewari had also reacted to Revanth’s remarks and tweeted that Revanth could have called Tharoor to clarify the issue before making such remarks.