Hands Tied Due To Kerala Polls, Irked Congress Wants Tharoor To Mind His Tongue

Last Updated:March 31, 2025, 15:38 IST

In a span of 10 days, there have been three occasions when Tharoor put his party in a spot by praising the Union government’s policies

Shashi Tharoor’s repeated out-of-line comments show that the top Congress leadership is weak and unable to rein in descending voices. (PTI)

Will Shashi Tharoor join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon? No, say those who are close to him as also the man himself. However, the BJP is loving the discomfort of the Congress with Tharoor’s statements.

In a span of about 10 days, there have been three occasions when Tharoor has put his party in a spot.

First was when he said it was “egg on my face" regarding the Indian government’s Ukraine-Russia policy. Two, as US-India delegation talks on tariffs were on, he said the government was putting its case forward strongly. It’s, however, his third assertion that has hit the Grand Old Party the most.

Rahul Gandhi has been attacking the Narendra Modi government over what he calls “Covid-19 mismanagement". In fact, not just the Congress but other INDIA bloc leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee have questioned the Covid-19 vaccines made in India. But Tharoor’s pat for India’s Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy has the Congress wondering — what is the leader up to?

Tharoor’s repeated out-of-line comments also show that the top Congress leadership is weak and unable to rein in descending voices. For example, during a meeting of Kerala leaders, Rahul Gandhi, without naming Tharoor, made it very clear that no one should speak out of line.

Winning in Kerala next year is a matter of prestige for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi was an MP from Wayanad and his sister Priyanka Vadra is now the sitting MP from there. Apart from this, general secretary KC Venugopal is also an MP from Kerala and many of Rahul Gandhi‘s close aides like Hibi Eden also come from the state.

The Congress hopes that in a cyclical pattern, the Left will be replaced by the UDF, led by the Grand Old Party. The Congress wants to take no chances and, therefore, is keeping quiet on Tharoor to avoid upsetting party leaders in the state.

The BJP, meanwhile, is enjoying the Congress’ discomfort with Rajeev Chandrashekhar being appointed the party’s head in Kerala. It’s clear that the saffron party wants to make inroads into ‘God’s Own Country’ and a Tharoor by its side will help it make a dent in the vote bank. Also, the Left is happy with Tharoor for his earlier comment giving a thumbs-up to the economic growth story of the state under the former’s rule.

Tharoor has now built an identity for himself beyond the Congress. If he decides to contest in the next Lok Sabha elections and Congress denies him a ticket, he still has a very strong chance as an independent. In case the BJP and Left bat for him, it becomes a golden opportunity. His supporters would certainly see this as hitting back at the Congress, which has clearly kept Tharoor at an arm’s length on multiple platforms.

The Congress is even more embarrassed by the fact that in the upcoming working committee session, it plans to pass a resolution against the government’s economic policies as well as the Covid-19 “mismanagement". In that context, Tharoor’s comments have definitely come at a bad time.

For now, the Congress wants Tharoor to mind his language. However, the man known to be a master of words is speaking a language that will certainly make the BJP happy.

News elections Hands Tied Due To Kerala Polls, Irked Congress Wants Tharoor To Mind His Tongue