Tharoor questions BJP's internal party democracy after attack on Rahul

'It is a classic case of people living in glass houses (throwing stones at others),' Tharoor said

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday hit back at the BJP for its dynasty taunt at Rahul Gandhi, saying they should "first look at their own internal party democracy".

Tharoor also said that it was a "classic case of people living in glass houses" without completing the maxim that warns people against targeting others when they are themselves vulnerable.

"BJP should first look at their own internal party democracy... It is a classic case of people living in glass houses (throwing stones at others)," he said.

The Lok Sabha member said this in response to questions from the media here on the allegation levelled by the BJP on the imminent elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the Congress president post, on a day when he filed his nomination for it.

"Democracy doesn't mean that there necessarily has to be more than one candidate. It means the process should be followed, and at present, it seems there is no opposition to his (Rahul Gandhi's) nomination. And, if there is an opposition, there will be a vote," Tharoor told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today likened the imminent elevation of Rahul Gandhi to dynastic succession of Mughal rulers, while BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said "Pidhikaran of the Congress is now complete. Neither the old generation (PEEDI), nor the new generation matters."

He termed the entire election process a "mockery of democratic traditions".

Without naming anyone, Tharoor, also obliquely referred to the detractors within the BJP, to make his point.

At the beginning of the press conference, the Lok Sabha member said it was an important day for the Congress, and "it is a beginning of handing over of the torch to a new generation of leadership" in the party.

Earlier in a video message posted on his Twitter handle, he said, "It is in Rahulji, we have exactly the kind of young, dynamic visionary, leader that the nation as a whole needs."

The Congress vice president filed his nomination for the post of party president, heralding a generational shift in the leadership of the grand old party seeking a revival in its electoral fortunes.

The 47-year-old Gandhi scion is set take over the party's reins from Sonia Gandhi, who has steered the party for 19 years, including the 10, when it led the UPA government.

Accompanied by a host of senior party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi filed his papers before the party's Central Election Committee.