Congress Working Committee Member and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor complimented Kerala Governor today. He has praised Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar for hosting all MPs from the State for a dinner discussion in New Delhi. On his X page, he said, “Greatly appreciate the gesture of Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar in hosting all Kerala MPs to a dinner discussion last night (Tuesday) on the problems being faced by the State and the need for collective action.”
He said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also attended and spoke briefly at the discussion. “This unusual gesture augurs well for our combined efforts to develop the State, beyond our political differences,” he said in the post.
Though, according to sources, this is for the first time a Governor is hosting a dinner discussion with MPs from the State which deserves accolades, Congress usually does not complement such initiatives if done by opposition parties or any Centre-appointed officials.
Shashi Tharoor of late has been stirring up political storms by praising rivals of his party too. On an earlier occasion he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump, saying, "What we have seen from the press statements by the Prime Minister and President Trump are very encouraging. Some of the big concerns we all had have been addressed.”
He also mentioned that “the commitment to sell us the F-35 Stealth Aircraft is very valuable because that is a state-of-the-art aircraft,” while Congress criticised the very deal citing their high costs.
"The F-35, which Elon Musk has described as 'junk', why is Narendra Modi hell-bent on buying it?" asked Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on his X account, saying that the aircraft was expensive and had high operational costs.
In his response to questions on whether his relationship with the Congress party was good, he said I am not a party spokesman. I am an MP elected by all the people of Thiruvananthapuram, and on that basis, I speak as a responsible stakeholder in Indian democracy".
In a podcast with Indian Express Malayalam, Tharoor said he has always expressed his views fearlessly when it came to the betterment of the country. “I don’t think like a politician. I have never had narrow political thoughts,” he said, adding,"... I have never seen a negative reaction to my remarks from the public. But it exists in the party. They ask me why you say good things about our rivals. Yes, they are our opponents, but when they do good things, we have to appreciate them.”
Now again, his penchant for speaking his mind, even when it clashes with the Congress party line, may stir the political pot in the State which may have louder consequences that could reshape Kerala's political landscape ahead of the 2026 elections.