Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s recent X post, in which he is seen taking a selfie with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynold, has further fueled the current rumors about his estrangement from the grand old party.
Taking to X, Tharoor posted, “Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome.”
Tharoor sparked controversy within his party after praising both the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala and PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.
In a newspaper article published on February 14, Tharoor praised the economic policies of the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While the Left party welcomed his comments, Congress leaders criticised Tharoor’s stance.
“As a Kerala MP, I wrote this piece with a specific point in mind—the change in the industrial scenario through the development of the startup ecosystem. As a Congress activist, I am proud to say that it was the erstwhile Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who set this process in motion,” he had stated in his defence.
Later, Congress MP gave a rare appreciation to PM Modi after US President Trump referred to the Indian Prime Minister as a “great leader”. He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me,” the US President added.
Describing Trump’s comments, Tharoor stated: “To hear a man like Donald Trump, whose defence secretary has referred to him as the greatest negotiator in the world, to declare that the Indian prime minister was a better negotiator than him, that sounds like something Mr Modi can bank on, that sounds excellent.”
Tharoor’s remarks about PM Modi created emotions, and he responded by saying that he was speaking with India’s interest in his mind. “We cannot always speak only in terms of party interest,” he added.
