Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor speaks during Vizhinjam Conclave Investment Summit in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran
Amid an ongoing controversy in Kerala over an article in which he stated that the State has seen entrepreneurial growth under the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor met former Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.
Apart from the article, which was published in an English daily, Mr. Tharoor, a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), also took a different stance from the party with regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. and his meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP had described the Prime Minister’s visit as “a significant development since Mr. Modi was the fourth head of government to have been given an appointment by President Trump”.
Without naming him, Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh last week had issued a statement in which he had said that “members give their views on issues which are, on occasion, their own and that do not reflect the opinion of the party as a collective entity”.
“It was a long-pending request I had made for a meeting to discuss various issues,” Mr. Tharoor told The Hindu, without elaborating the issue discussed between him and Mr. Gandhi
The meeting came on a day when fellow Lok Sabha member from Kerala and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the controversy surrounding Mr. Tharoor’s article was a “closed chapter”.
Mr. Venugopal said the party leadership had spoken to the Thiruvananthapuram MP and he had informed them that he would reconsider his position if accurate data on the State’s entrepreneurial growth were available.
“There is no need for any controversy over it. It is a closed chapter. That is the Congress’ view,” Mr. Venugopal told reporters before the meeting of Mr. Tharoor and Mr. Gandhi took place.
Mr. Venugopal added that the Congress in Kerala held a strong view on the claims made by the Left government and alleged that the State government had manipulated data on growth and was engaging in a PR exercise.
His statement was seen as a balancing act in the face of relentless attack on Mr. Tharoor from party workers and leaders in Kerala for praising the LDF government.
On Monday, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief K. Sudhakaran had stated that he had spoken directly to the Thiruvananthapuram MP and given him “good advice.”
“Individuals can have their own opinions, but the party decides its official stance,” Mr. Sudhakaran had said in Kasaragod.
On Sunday, Mr. Tharoor had asserted that his article in an English daily didn’t have any political references, and he focused solely on Kerala’s entrepreneurial and innovation-driven growth.
Published – February 18, 2025 09:35 pm IST