Following Maharashtra Congress Secretary Shehzad Poonawalla calling Congress party's presidential elections "rigged", his elder brother Tehseen Poonawalla, disowned him on 4 December. Tehseen is also associated with the Congress party.
Tehseen added that his mother, wife and him were no longer "associated with this gentleman", referring to Shehzad.
He hit out at his brother saying that he could have raised the questions "legitimately in a forum".
First of all, I don’t know anyone by the name of Shehzad Poonawalla. Me, my wife and my mother are no longer associated with this gentleman. Any questions he had could have been raised legitimately in forum within the ‘maryada’ and ‘daayra’ of the party.Tehseen Poonawalla
Speaking to ANI, Tehseen added that his family and him were "completely” with the current party vice president Rahul Gandhi and want him to "take over" as the party leader. He added that his entire family has cut off ties with Shehzad.
Earlier in the week, Shehzad said that he would also contest the election if it were conducted in a ‘genuine’ manner.
Calling the election a ‘selection’ rather than a democratic process, Shehzad said:
I cannot contest a rigged election. If the system is genuine, then I will contest. It is a rigged election... it is a selection. Delegates who are going to vote for this election have not been elected as per the constitutional requirements. They have been handpicked. Will you allow real delegates to get appointed and vote rather than a bunch of handpicked ‘yes’ men?
.jpg?rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1080&auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
While Shehzad had earned the criticism of Congress leaders, including his brother, he was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who applauded the "youngster" for exposing the alleged rigging that is taking place in Congress elections.
(With inputs from ANI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)