Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president Tirunavukkarasar has taken party MLA Vijayadhari to task for criticizing party president Rahul Gandhi.

A 7’ x 5’ large portrait of deceased Tamil Nadu chief-minister J. Jayalalithaa was unveiled within the premises of the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday by Speaker Dhanapal in the presence of chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami and deputy chief-minister O. Panneerselvam. Leading opposition parties including the DMK and the Congress boycotted the ceremony to mark the unveiling of the portrait of Jayalalithaa, stating that she had been found ‘guilty’ by the Court in the assets case.

However, Congress MLA Vijayadharani, who is also the party’s Chief Whip in Legislative Assembly, not only welcomed the unveiling of the portrait of the former chief-minister (whom she described as ‘iron lady’) but also went to the extent of defending the AIADMK regime’s decision to unveil the portrait within the Assembly’s premises. She also presented a bouquet of flowers to Speaker Dhanapal after he unveiled the late chief-minister’s portrait.

Vijayadharani is said to have pointed out Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was the party’s vice-president at the time of the former chief-minister’s demise in December 2016, had taken part in the cremation of the late leader. It is in this backdrop that Tirunavukkarasar has condemned Vijayadharani’s act of presenting bouquets to Speaker Dhanapal and likening her support to unveiling Jayalalithaa’s portrait to Rahul Gandhi’s decision to attend the cremation of the late leader.