After ‘darpok’ remark on Rahul Gandhi, ex-Cong leader Shakeel Ahmad claims threats to life
Patna: Former Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad has claimed that his life is under threat, days after he publicly described Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi as a “darpok (coward)” and an “insecure” politician.
Ahmad, a three-time MLA and two-term MP from Bihar, had quit the Congress following the Bihar Assembly elections last year.
On Tuesday, he alleged that he had been “secretly informed” by his former party colleagues that the Congress high command had allegedly issued directions to “carry out an attack” at his residences in Patna and Madhubani under the guise of protests and effigy burning.
“This is against the principles of democracy,” Ahmad wrote in a post on X, expressing concern over his safety.
In another post, Ahmad shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp group chat, in which a person was seen urging other members to burn his effigies for speaking out against Rahul Gandhi. Referring to this, Ahmad claimed that his apprehensions had now been validated.
“Now my information has been proven absolutely correct. Many thanks to the old associates of Congress. There is a saying in our Bihar: ‘Old friends are the ones who come in handy’. Is this happening without Rahul ji’s orders?” he questioned in the post.
Following this, security has been tightened outside his home in Phulwari Sharif in Patna.
The controversy follows Ahmad’s sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi last Saturday, when he termed the Congress leader a “darpok” and accused him of insecurity within the party.
Ahmad had alleged that Gandhi promotes only young leaders who continuously praise him and sidesteps senior leaders with an independent public standing.
He further claimed that Gandhi feels uncomfortable in the presence of experienced leaders and accused him of running the party in a “dictatorial” and “non-democratic” manner.
According to Ahmad, senior colleagues in the Congress are often ignored, and decision-making remains confined to a narrow circle.
Ahmad also alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s leadership style has deepened internal divisions within the party, as only those who openly glorify him are encouraged, while dissenting voices are sidelined.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has weighed in on the episode, saying it exposed what he described as Rahul Gandhi’s “real image”.
“Rahul Gandhi has already been rejected by public opinion, but how Congress leaders and workers themselves do not accept him as a leader is evident. Shakeel Ahmad explained how Rahul Gandhi is timid, insecure, and immature. He wants a strong Congress, but not strong leaders within the party,” Poonawalla claimed, adding that many leaders left the Congress due to alleged insecurity at the top.