"No comments at all": Shashi Tharoor amidst reports of rift with Congress

New Delhi [India], February 23 : Amidst reports that all is not well between him and the Congress following backlash from within the party. on his apparent praise recently for the Kerala Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's industrial policy and also for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday refused to comment further on the subject.
"No comments at all," said the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram as reporters accosted him at the New Delhi airport today. Tharoor meanwhile urged the mediapersons to "Go watch the match; it's an important match today." The ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan began in Dubai this afternoon.
Tharoor had on Saturday posted on his X account the quote "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise" by poet Thomas Gray.
https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1893162768557318192
This follows an interview to a Malayalam podcast, of a leading newspaper published from New Delhi today in its English edition, in which he noted that if the Congress did not try to expand its appeal, it would be sitting in opposition for the third consecutive time in Kerala.
Further, he was cited as saying that "several workers feel that there is an absence of a leader in Kerala's Congress."
He also said that he was elected as MP four times from Thiruvananthapuram and that if the Congress did not need his services, he had "other options" including speaking tours and books.
Assembly elections in Kerala is scheduled for 2026 and Tharoor claimed in the interview published in the newspaper today that opinion polls from independent agencies indicated he was "ahead of others in leadership stakes in Kerala."
Earlier, his article in an English daily over praise for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government's handling of Kerala's economy had drawn criticism from fellow Congress leaders in the State.
Tharoor had subsequently clarified that his article did not seek to survey the entire Kerala economy, which "remains in dire straits." He said that he wrote about a specific subject: the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone.
"First of all, I wrote it as a Kerala MP on one specific subject, the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone," Tharoor said.
He said that the LDF government built on the initiative undertaken by former Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who established the Start-Up Village and the State's Start-Up Mission.
"As a Congressman, I am proud that this builds on an initiative undertaken by former chief minister Oomen Chandy, who established the Start-Up Village and the State's Start-Up Mission in the first place -- which the present government has built upon," he said in a post on X.
"Second, the article does not seek to be a survey of the entire Kerala economy, which remains in dire straits, as i have repeatedly pointed out --featuring high unemployment; massive out-migration, especially of educated youth; crisis in agriculture, esp the rubber, cashew, pineapple and rubber sectors; and a record level of debt," he added.
Tharoor said that when something good emerges, it is petty not to acknowledge it.
"There is MUCH more to be done. But when something good emerges, even if only in one area, it is petty not to acknowledge it. I based myself principally on the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, and on the specific facts & figures cited in my article," he said.
"Final request: read the article before you comment on a one-line summary! It doesn't mention party politics, but speaks of things Kerala needs to do to get out of the economic doldrums -- changes I have been demanding in the state during all my 16 years in politics," the Thiruvannthapuram MP said.
Congress leader K Muraleedharan reacted to Tharoor's statement and said it is not the stand of the Congress leaders in Kerala.
"What Tharoor said is not the stand of the Congress in Kerala. The national leadership should answer. Tharoor's stand is not acceptable to the Congressmen in Kerala. Tharoor is a national leader and a global citizen. As an ordinary worker, I am not the person to judge Tharoor's statement," he said.
CPM State Secretary MV Govindan said that Shashi Tharoor's article has effectively highlighted the realities of Kerala's industrial growth. "It clearly shows how Kerala moved from the 28th position to the top. The article also states that Kerala has achieved five times growth on a global scale. Tharoor has made an effort to present Kerala's industrial progress accurately to the world, and I congratulate him for that. His article holds significant value. Naturally, this will create issues within the UDF.
There is nothing wrong with inviting Shashi Tharoor to be part of our party's seminars," he said.
BJP leader Anil Antony who was former head of the Kerala Congress digital media cell said that Shashi Tharoor is not the first. Congress leader who is showing unhappiness about the Congress party. "The Congress party has been in disarray for a long time, so this is not surprising," he told ANI on Saturday.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar slammed both the UDF and LDF in Kerala and said that both the alliances had put up a mock fight in Kerala.
"Shashi Tharoor's praise of Pinarayi Vijayan and UDF's declaration of joint protest with LDF, has once again proved that both LDF and UDF are friends all over and put up a mock fight in Kerala. Voters of Kerala will teach them a lesson for this deception. Mr Tharoor, you know very well that there were only 400 start-ups in 2014 in the country; now it is 1,40,000. This is the credit of Narendra Modi," Javadekar said.