Shashi Tharoor Refutes Claims of Praising PM Modi, Calls for Political Maturity Beyond Ideological Boundaries

Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has pushed back against criticisms from within his party over his recent remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, stressing that a neutral summary was “misconstrued” as praise. Tharoor said the controversy only highlighted how political discourse has become trapped in ideological rigidity.

Tharoor had attended the event organised by The Indian Express and later posted key takeaways from the Prime Minister’s speech—despite suffering from a severe cold. He had noted that the address not only provided an economic outlook but also delivered a cultural message urging India to stay “impatient for progress.” The Congress MP reiterated that his intention was simply to outline what the Prime Minister had said, not endorse it.

Speaking at a separate event, Tharoor said that politics must evolve beyond inflexible ideological stands. “Our problem right now is that our politics seems to demand everybody has to be such a purist ideologically that they will not see any merit on the other side, they will not talk to anybody on the other side,” he said.

Responding to the backlash, he added, “Even a neutral post by me on a speech by the Prime Minister has been attacked as praising the Prime Minister. I didn’t say a single word of praise, I just described the speech.”

The Thiruvananthapuram MP argued that cooperation with the Union government is often necessary to deliver development on the ground. He questioned how any state could push forward major projects without engaging the Centre, noting that political posturing should not come in the way of public welfare.

“You really have to say it is in our interest to cooperate in the interest of our people… So yes, I don’t disagree with the ruling party, but they are the ruling party, they have a mandate from the nation. I will work with them,” he said.

Tharoor also pointed to a recent controversy in Kerala, where a central scheme was reportedly rejected on ideological grounds. He criticised such decisions, saying, “There are schools… whose roofs are leaking… and we are now acting ideologically pure and refusing the money from the Centre. That’s crazy. It’s taxpayers’ money. It’s our money.”