This Article is From Oct 08, 2014

Now, Kerala Congress Accuses Tharoor of "Love Letters" to PM

Thiruvananthapuram: A Congress publication in Kerala has, in a caustic editorial, censured party MP Shashi Tharoor for penning "love songs" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi through "tweets and adulatory articles in opinion pages."

The article in the Congress daily "Veekshnam" does not name Mr Tharoor, but makes it amply clear who it is aiming at. It is full of oblique references to Mr Tharoor's background in foreign policy and repeatedly alleges that he is soft on the BJP.

"Holy cows who cannot stand one election defeat, how long will they last with the Congress party? In the present drought of the Congress, the disappointed ones must have been attracted to the prosperity and reign of the BJP," the article says.

In another allegorical reference it advises, "After having enjoyed the privileges of the Congress party, instead of allowing the paramour to enter through the back door, it is better to go out with the Paramour through the front door."

On Monday, Congress leaders in Kerala had warned Mr Tharoor to stop praising PM Narendra Modi or face disciplinary action. The party unit was incensed at Mr Tharoor saying that he was "honoured" to be featured among nine prominent Indians who were tagged by the Prime Minister when he launched his countrywide five-year Clean India campaign last week on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.

Mr Tharoor told NDTV today that those in the Kerala branch of his party who accuse him of praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi have neither understood his remarks, nor bothered to talk to him. He also said he is seen as an outsider,  "a foreign object in the body politic."

His assessment seems to be borne out by the Veekshnam article comparing him to "Siberian migratory birds who come looking for optimum climate."

Mr Tharoor is the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram and a former Union Minister. In tweets since the Kerala Congressmen attacked him, he has asserted, "I am a proud Congressman and a proud Indian. In short: not pro-BJP, just pro-India!"

In what appeared to be a balancing act, he also later tweeted, "Deeply concerned by reports of 5 killed&50 injured in Pakistani shelling today.Over 100 ceasefire violations on LoC since BJP came to power!"


Watch Shashi Tharoor's interview to NDTV:



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