Thiruvananthapuram: Four-time Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor is going through a difficult time and there are reports that he is disillusioned with the party after coming under attack from several quarters in the Congress for praising Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s governance in an article in a leading national daily.
Since then, practically the entire top brass of the party in Kerala has distanced itself from Tharoor.
However, the senior Congress MP has come in for all round praise from the CPI-M in general and CM Vijayan in particular.
Soon after Tharoor’s article was published, some sections in the party wrote to the Congress high command, and a one-on-one meeting between Tharoor and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took place in Delhi last week.
However, even after that, Tharoor continues to stick to his position and that has further upset top leaders like state party President K. Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and his predecessor and veteran legislator Ramesh Chennithala.
On Sunday a statement from Sudhakaran revealed that Tharoor is in no mood to relent.
Sudhakaran said despite making a few calls to Tharoor, he has not been able to connect with him.
Tharoor’s Lok Sabha colleague and General Secretary incharge of organisation, K.C. Venugopal who is trying to cool down things, on Monday said that the Congress is a party which does not sideline those who criticise.
“All along our party has taken criticisms in the correct manner and we are not a party which eliminates those who criticise. In Kerala the party will go forward unitedly,” said Venugopal.
A media critic on condition of anonymity said no doubt Tharoor is a class apart and his four straight wins from Thiruvananthapuram show that people vote for him above political affiliations.
“The problem that he has fewer friends in the party here is his style of operation as he is not easily approachable.
“Just imagine, a state party president admitting he is not able to connect to Tharoor. This reveals everything. Tharoor fails to understand that Congress is the only party which gives full freedom to its leaders, but he has crossed all limits,” said the critic.
Meanwhile, even while leaders like Venugopal are trying to calm things down, there is a general feeling among the national party leaders that this time, Tharoor has bitten off more than he can chew.
Disclaimer: This is a syndicated feed. The article is not edited by the FPJ editorial team.
