Shashi Tharoor triggered a political storm by praising Kerala’s entrepreneurial growth under the LDF government. However, he later clarified that he did not praise the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala, but instead highlighted the state’s progress in the startup sector.
Congress leader Shashi Throor drew criticism from the party after he praised Kerala’s LDF government’s industrial policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Soon after this rumours started doing rounds that ‘everything is not right’ between him and the party. Recently, speaking at IE Malayalam podcast, Tharoor said he has ‘options’ if the Congress party does not need his services.
However, he refuted the rumours of any rift or him switching the parties. After the podcast, reporters accosted him at the New Delhi airport and asked about the same. To this, he replied “no comments at all” and added, “go watch the match; it’s an important match today.”
Shashi Tharoor on Congress leadership in Kerala
Speaking at the podcast, Tharoor said 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. He also addd that several workers feel that there is an absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress.
Assembly elections in Kerala is scheduled for 2026 and Tharoor claimed in the interview with the newspaper that he is ahead of others in leadership stakes in the state.
Tharoor shares a cryptic post
Amid the ongoing whispers, Tharoor on Saturday, posted on his X account the quote “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise” by poet Thomas Gray.
How did the controversy started
Last week, Shashi Tharoor triggered a political storm by praising Kerala’s entrepreneurial growth under the LDF government. However, he later clarified that he did not praise the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala, but instead highlighted the state’s progress in the startup sector.
Tharoor said, “I wrote the article based on the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, which stated that Kerala attracted an investment of 1. 7 billion US Dollars within 18 months. If anyone challenges the accuracy of this fact, I will relay it to those who published the report.”
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday attacked the opposition stating that Tharoor’s article had debunked the false propaganda spread by the Congress-led UDF against Kerala.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran responded to the controversy and accused the Left government of inflating small enterprise figures, but did not mention Tharoor by name.
