Tame Tharoor: Cong leaders tell Sonia after MP praises Kerala CM

Fissures in the Kerala Congress are deep and in the public eye now. On Friday, former state party chief Mullapally Ramachandran openly criticised Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, and asked the party high command to take note of his statements.

“He is first and foremost a Congress MP and hence has to follow the basic discipline that all Congressmen have to adhere to and for that the high command should step in. It is of least importance on Tharoor’s international acclaim and status as more important is the party and its policies,” Ramachandran was quoted as saying by ANI.

On Thursday, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Lulu mall, Tharoor had said he “stands for development” and came in support of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the LDF. “I don’t think we should refrain from congratulating people for the work they do,” he said.

Enjoyed discussing Kerala’s development with CM ⁦@vijayanpinarayi⁩. On some issues it is necessary to put political differences aside & get on with growth. The young people of our state deserve opportunities that the current economic situation does not offer them. pic.twitter.com/zBlmxLbR0N

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 16, 2021

His statement left the Congress leaders unhappy, also because of his stand on K-Rail, when he did not sign a memorandum of all Congress MPs from Kerala asking the Union Railways Minister not to sanction the project.

Earlier also, Tharoor had taken an opposite stand when the Left and the Congress-led UDF came together to oppose handing over the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Adani.

True to his style, however, Tharoor reacted to the displeasure against him from the Congress party by taking to Twitter: “Enjoyed discussing Kerala’s development with CM Pinarayi Vijayan. On some issues, it is necessary to put political differences aside and get on with growth. The young people of our state deserve opportunities that the current economic situation does not offer them.”