Priyanka Chaturvedi, the foremost spokesperson of the Congress party had recently taken to Twitter to express her dissatisfaction with Congress.
On April 15th, 2019, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee issued a letter of suspension to abusive party workers for their unruly behaviour with the party spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi in Mathura. As per the letter, the incident took place during a press conference that Priyanka Chaturvedi addressed in Mathura. The press conference was about the Rafale deal. However, much to Priyanka’s chagrin, within 2 days they were reinstated back in the party.
Among the persons who had allegedly misbehaved with Priyanka are the general secretary of the UPCC and vice president of the Congress committee in Mathura, as well as a former MLA candidate, along with several other office bearers of the party.
Priyanka Chaturvedi took to Twitter to say, “Deeply saddened that lumpen goons get preference in @incindia over those who have given their sweat&blood. Having faced brickbats&abuse across the board for the party but yet those who threatened me within the party getting away with not even a rap on their knuckles is unfortunate”.
Now, rumours have gained strength that Priyanka Chaturvedi might be poised to join Shiv Sena. OpIndia tried to reach out to some workers and office bearers of Mumbai Congress but nobody has issued an official statement yet.
While most within the Congress party denied having any information on this news, some said that Priyanka Chaturvedi has been a loyal party member and thus, refused to believe the rumours that she might join Shiv Sena. One functionary from Congress, Mumbai, said that even after the drubbing in 2014, Priyanka did not abandon the ship and hence, she wouldn’t now as well.
One person, however, said, “There is no confirmation that this news is true. It seems like Priyanka is planting these stories to pressurise the state unit to concede to her demands”.
Interestingly, the Twitter profile of Priyanka Chaturvedi earlier included her designation as ‘Convenor -AICC Communication. National Spokesperson’. Now, she seems to have dropped that designation from her Twitter bio.
Several journalists who are known to be extremely close to the Congress party have also noted the change in Priyanka Chaturvedi’s Twitter bio.
In fact, journalist Pallavi Ghosh who is known to be a Congress insider revealed that Priyanka Chaturvedi has also left the Congress WhatsApp groups.
@priyankac19 removes her cong spokesperson profile from her twitter handle .. leaves cong whatsapp group : my piece from yesterday again : https://t.co/gpVR0o0ysI
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) 19 April 2019
Another loyalist journalist couldn’t believe that Congress would let go of one of their “most articulate” spokespersons.
How can any party let go one of its most articulate spokespersons. @priyankac19
— Mahesh Langa (@LangaMahesh) April 19, 2019
Another journalist, Abhisar Sharma, who regularly bats for Congress and abuses random people on Twitter wondered if the change in bio means ‘Bye Bye Congress’.
Bye Bye Congress ? pic.twitter.com/j4W2RZE95r
— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) April 19, 2019
While Congress talks tall about women empowerment, the plight of one of its foremost spokesperson is truly telling. OpIndia has reached out to Priyanka Chaturvedi for a comment, and this story will be updated if and when she chooses to respond.
Update: NDTV has reported that Priyanka Chaturvedi resigned from Congress on Thursday night. No official statement on her joining Shiv Sena has been made yet.
Editor, OpIndia.com since October 2017
