Karat Debunks Possibility of Tharoor joining CPI(M)
I don't think he has given any indication of that. He has some views of his own, he is not a run-of-the-mill politician, Karat said.
Days after a flurry of speculation and questions about Shashi Tharoor’s place in the Congress, CPI(M) interim coordinator Prakash Karat today dismissed the possibility of his joining the Left party and said the Thiruvananthpuram MP never indicated that he would "desert" the grand old party.
In an interview with PTI, Karat also lauded Tharoor, saying he was not a "run-of-the-mill politician" and his views might, at times, be "inconvenient" for the Congress. Asked about the speculations, Karat said, "I don't think Mr Tharoor had in any way indicated that he was going to desert the Congress."
"I don't think he has given any indication of that. He has some views of his own, he is not a run-of-the-mill politician. You know his background… He sometimes speaks the truth, which is inconvenient, probably, for the Congress," said Karat.
The speculation kicked off last month when Tharoor wrote an article in an English daily, spotlighting entrepreneurial growth in Kerala under the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The piece ignited a firestorm. While CPI (M) cheered on it, Congress leaders challenged its premise. Tharoor later clarified he wasn’t lauding the CPI(M)-led regime but simply noting the state’s start-up surge.
The veteran CPI(M) leader said Tharoor had talked about how start-ups in Kerala were showing remarkable progress. "So, I don't think there is any truth in that."
Though CPI(M) and the Congress are constituents of the INDI alliance, in Kerala they are opposing each other.
In earlier occasion too when Tharoor’s remarks praising Prime Minister Modi after the latter's visit to the US, irked party insiders. He later clarified saying he was available for Congress. If the party doesn't want him he said he had other options. This again triggered a wave of whispers linking him to BJP. However, Tharoor fired back, slamming the media for distorting his words. He clarified that he just mentioned options such as traveling, lecturing and writing books and so on.
