"Congress-Yukt BJP": Shashi Tharoor's Quip After RPN Singh's Defection

RPN Singh joined the BJP leader a day ago, evoking a sharp reaction from Congress leaders, including its spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who called him a "coward".

A day after Congress leader RPN Singh joined the BJP, his former party colleague Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a dig at the ruling party with a rhyme and a quip on the BJP's catchphrase of 'Congress-mukt Bharat' (Congress-free India), saying it was now "Congress-yukt BJP" (Congress-powered BJP).

Just weeks ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Mr Singh quit the Congress party on Tuesday and joined the BJP, in the latest setback for the grand old party.

A union minister during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's second term, the 57-year-old leader joined the BJP at the party headquarters, evoking a sharp reaction from Congress leaders, including its spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who called him a "coward".

On Wednesday, Mr Tharoor took to Twitter to say in Hindi, "'Chorh kar ja rahe hain ghar apna, shayad unke kuch aur sapne hain, ab udhar bhi sab apna sa hai, ab udhar bhi toh sabhi apne hain. (Congress-yukt BJP)'" The tweet roughly translates to: "He is leaving his home, maybe he has other dreams; now there also it feels homely, there also are his own people".