New Delhi: Many times in the last few months, we have heard the Congress “distance” from Shashi Tharoor’s comments. But now, in an interesting turn of events, it appears that Shashi Tharoor is “away” himself from the Congress. The gap between the Congress and Tharoor, which first appeared on the surface in February this year, when the Thiruvananthapuram MP openly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to American, seems to have widened in the last few days. Bypassing the Congress leadership, the government’s move to nominate Tharoor to its global diplomatic outreach post operation vermilion has probably brought the differences to a tipping point. Congress veteran PJ Kurien’s recent remarks: “If people suspect that Tharoor is leaning to BJP, no one can blame them for thinking” increases visible stress in the relationship. This has raised a clear question: Is Tharoor out of Congress?Well, we cannot have a clear answer to this question right now. But there are enough indications to suggest that Congress and Tharoor are separating.What they had to say about each other after the latest round of stand-off stand-offs triggered by the government’s enrollment step.Tharoor, when asked about not being enrolled by the party, said, “My party’s leadership is entitled to my opinion about my abilities or in its absence, and I think it is really to explain to them. I have no comments on it.,Asked if the party is trying to insult the names suggested by it for the delegation, Tharoor said that he cannot be insulted so easily. “I know my price,” he said.Tharoor also echoed the government’s line and said, “In my mind, it has nothing to do with party politics. All this has been with our country in recent times and we need to introduce a united front for us. It is a good reflection of national unity at a time when unity is important.”Unhappy with the responsibility of ignoring the Congress, Tharoor’s party stand, he said: “There is a difference between being in the Congress and the Congress. The Congress is like a powerful Ganga, which has many tributaries … some of them dry up and some are polluted.” Many messages from Congress to Congress Shashi Tharoor and Congress were not on the same page on many issues in the last few months, there was an open secret. There were many examples when Tharoor praised PM Modi’s policies without harassing the party line. PM Modi’s visit to US“PM Modi’s US visit has achieved some positive results for Indian people. I welcome the fact that now there is an agreement to interact for the next 9 months on business and tariff. It is far better than Washington and we are unilaterally imposing some tariffs on us, which can harm our exports.” We cannot always speak only in terms of party interests.I am not a party spokesperson. I am an MP chosen by all the people of Thiruvananthapuram, and on that basis, I speak as a responsible stakeholder in Indian democracy. ,Russia-Ukraine on War“India’s diplomatic approach gave the Prime Minister a unique place to separate the Prime Minister and both the President of Moscow for two weeks and to be accepted in both places. I am still wiping eggs from my face because I was a person in parliamentary debate who actually criticized the Indian situation at that time in February 2022. , Covid vaccine on diplomacy“India’s vaccine diplomacy during the Kovid epidemic stands out of the middle of the magnitude of the time, which is a powerful example of the international leadership inherent in responsibility and solidarity. By distributing-in-India vaccines made in more than 100 countries, India demonstrated its ability to help. “During the dark days of Kovid epidemic, this initiative reinforced India as a force in the world, which reflects its human spirit and combines the attraction of its soft power.This carried forward the values of compassion, cooperation and global partnership for the world, created goodwill, strengthened diplomatic relations, and enhanced India’s global stature. ,Pahalgam on intelligence failure in terrorist attack“Obviously, there was no complete proof intelligence. There was some failure … but we have found an example of Israel, according to everyone, the best intelligence services in the world, which was taken surprising only two years ago on 7 October. It seems to me, as the Israel is waiting until the end of the war, before they demand accountability, similarly, I think we should also look at the current crisis and then demand accountability from the government.Any country can never have 100 percent intelligence information. ,Clearly, the praise of Tharoor for PM Modi and his policies was not a crime, but perhaps a continuous campaign to send some messages under the leadership of the Congress. When it was reported that his comment was in variance with the party’s stand, Tharoor strongly defended his position.“For 16 years, I have been in politics. My attitude has been that when a person in the government, whether it is our government or any other party government, does the right thing or does something well, one should accept and praise it, and when they do something badly, one should criticize it,” when objection was made in February, “was a praise for PM Modi’s American visit.‘Sleepless Night’: PM Modi’s ‘Tharoor’ swipe in CongressThe difference between the Congress and Tharoor was so clear that Prime Minister Modi swipe at the Grand-Purel party for sharing the stage with Thiruvananthapuram MP at a function in Kerala.In his address during a public event, PM Modi said, “I want to tell the Chief Minister (Pinarayi Vijayan), you are a strong pillar of the Indi alliance, Shashi Tharoor is also sitting here. Today’s incident is going to disturb the sleep of many people. ,When the exact translation of the translator Prime Minister’s message failed to transport from Hindi to Malayalam, PM Modi said, “Wherever the message is to go, he has gone there.”Repeat ‘criminal’?Interestingly, this is not the first time that Tharoor has got into trouble with the Congress on his praise for PM Modi. In February 2015, Tharoor called PM Modi a “Master Communator”.Tharur then said, “In the Prime Minister, we are all looking at a master communicator at work. The Prime Minister is very effective in speech-making, slogans, sound bites, photo opes come in a very unique way.”The repeated praise of Tharoor for Modi inspired the Kerala Congress to remind him that he was elected on a Congress ticket. The state unit had then warned Tharoor to disciplinary action if he continued to appreciate Modi’s initiative.When Kerala Congress objected to the support of PM Modi’s “Swachh Bharat” campaign, Tharoor said that it did not mean that he also supported the BJP’s “Core Hindutva” agenda and continued “proud Congress”.Tharoor then said in a Facebook comment, “I am surprised that I would suggest that I am a BJP supporter. I have a 30 -year paper trail of writing published on my idea of India and I have deep faith in India’s pluralism.”“Being receptive to the specific statements or actions of BJP leaders, the party’s original Hindutva agenda has not been accepted from a distance. The PM made his appeal as a non-political and I received it in that spirit. I am a proud Congressman and a proud Indian. Complain, not a supporter, not the BJP.In 2015, Tharoor was clearly defensive about his thoughts and statements that were in variance with the party. 10 years later, he appears to be aggressive about his stand and has justified his thoughts. So, the question is: “Is Shashi Tharoor now forcing to get out of Congress?” Well, we have to wait and see how this saga comes out.
