Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday extended birthday greetings to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on his 50th birthday.
Sharing the wishes through a video message, Tharoor said, "Happy Birthday Rahul Gandhi. For us it’s a matter of great joy to see this young Congress leader turn 50, which is no longer the old 50, it is an energetic and youthful 50."
Tharoor further said that he has had the pleasure of seeing the many different avatars of Rahul Gandhi over the years. He also shared how they would have daily conversations in the Parliament, which were mainly about books. "For a couple of years, I sat directly behind Rahul Gandhi in the Parliament and had the pleasure of having daily conversations with him, which invariably were about books, because he is the man who reads and enjoys what he reads."
Continuing his praises of the Gandhi scion, Tharoor added, "He is a man with considerable intellectual and curiosity, which sadly is rare in our politics. And, a man with great compassion and heart with a clear idea on where he would like the Congress party to take the nation.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who turns 50 on Friday, will not celebrate his birthday due to the coronavirus crisis and the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh.
Congress has asked all the state units not to organise any celebratory activities like cutting cakes and installing banners. It has instead urged party members to distribute food packets and help those who are in need. The Congress party has also asked all its state and district committees to observe silence for two minutes in memory of the brave soldiers who died in Galwan Valley.
