"A Wonderful Achievement": Shashi Tharoor's Praise For Nalanda, Centre

Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday heaped praise on the government over the renovation and development of Bihar's Nalanda University, calling it a "wonderful achievement that deserves a higher rating among many unsung contributions of the External Affairs Ministry to our nation".

The Congress MP was in Rajgir in Bihar this week to inaugurate the Nalanda Literature Festival, which he called "an opportunity to promote the tradition of discussing literature and ideas".

Responding to an X post by ex-NITI Aayog Chairperson Amitabh Kant, who shared aerial photographs of the university campus and praised its "architecture, net zero initiative, serenity, and knowledge", Tharoor said, "I was hugely impressed… My warm congratulations to Dr S Jaishankar... and the Ministry of External Affairs for this wonderful achievement…"

On Sunday, while inaugurating the event, Shashi Tharoor said, "Knowledge should not be limited to the classrooms, but also outside the university. The literature festival is an opportunity where we can carry forward this tradition by discussing literature and ideas."

Couldn't agree more @amitabhk87 ! I was hugely impressed by the Nalanda University campus while attending the @nalandalitlive. My warm congratulations to @DrSJaishankar and @IndianDiplomacy for this wonderful achievement, which deserves a higher rating among the many unsung… https://t.co/hHo2IscQ7m

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 23, 2025

The Congress leader also commended Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for developing the state's infrastructure. "No question the infrastructure is so much better than I had heard before. The roads are better. People are out on streets even late at night, which was not always the case in the past. So far, the electricity seems to work, the water, everything else," Tharoor told NDTV.

Asked about Nitish Kumar, he played coy: "Don't get me into politics here. I am certainly very happy to see this progress. The people of Bihar and their representatives deserve credit."

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However, the twin remarks are unlikely to please Tharoor's employers, particularly since they come a month after the Congress and its Bihar ally, Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal, were thumped by the BJP and Janata Dal United-led alliance in the Assembly election.

The four-time Lok Sabha MP is widely seen as being on thin ice with the Congress after a number of comments praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi – beginning with the government's handling of the Pahalgam terror attack – and leading to sarcastic exchanges with other leaders.

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He did come out to bat for the Congress in this session of Parliament though, questioning the recently-passed G RAM G rural employment guarantee scheme and defending its predecessor, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MNREGA.

With input from agencies

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