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Shashi Tharoor
Former union minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said people in Karnataka were tired of "40 per cent commission" and wanted "100 per cent commitment" that the Congress party would give if it were voted to power in the upcoming Assembly election. He also said that the Congress was prepared to tackle the "serious deficiencies" in state-level and urban-level governance in Bengaluru and the entire state of Karnataka. I think the people in this state are tired of the 40 per cent commission. What they want is 100 per cent commitment and that's what we will give 100 per cent commitment to the well-being of the people of Karnataka, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said at a press conference here. In poll-bound Karnataka where the Assembly election is just a month away, the Congress has been accusing the BJP-led state government of collecting 40 per cent commission from contractors, unaided private schools and even some religious institutions on the grants that they receive from the ...
Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall. The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections. Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country
British writer, historian and academician Patrick French died in London after battling cancer for four years on Thursday, his family said. French, best known for his biography of VS Naipaul, "The World Is What It Is", and "India: A Portrait", died at 8 am (London time), his wife Meru Gokhale said. "At 8.10 am this morning my beloved husband Patrick French passed away in London after a brave battle with cancer. He was an exceptional father, friend, husband, teacher and mentor to many. His kindness and love will stay with us forever. He went in peace, without suffering," Gokhale, former publisher at the Penguin Press Group, said. Among those who sent in their tributes were Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor, and historians William Dalrymple and Ramachandra Guha.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said the Congress should be absolutely clear in its ideological stance in favour of an inclusive India and pointed out that party could have been more vocal on issues such as the Bilkis Bano outrage and murder in the name of cow vigilantism. Addressing the 85th plenary session of the party here, the former Union minister said the Congress should stand up for its foundational principles. "We should be absolutely clear in our ideological stance in favour of inclusive India. The tendency to downplay some positions or avoid taking a stand on some issues in order not to alienate what we assume to be the sentiments of the majority only plays into the BJP's hands," Tharoor said. "We must have the courage of our convictions. We could have been more vocal on the Bilkis Bano outrage, attacks on Christian churches, murder in the name of cow vigilantism, bulldozer demolition of Muslim homes and similar issues," he said. These are Indian citizen
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday condoled the passing away of Pakistan's former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, saying that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace" between 2002 and 2007. Tharoor's social media post condoling Musharraf's demise evoked a sharp response from the BJP which accused the Congress of "Pakistan parasti (worshipping)". Musharraf passed away on Sunday in a Dubai hospital, according to media reports. "'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet. "I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said. Tagging Tharoor's tweets, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Pervez Musharraf architect of Kargil, dictator, accused of heinous crimes who considered Taliban .
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said the challenge to build "brand India" continues because it is world's perception about the country that matters, not what "we are trying to sell about ourselves". Addressing an event organised by Mathrubhumi media group here, he said India witnessed rapid economic growth post liberalisation in the 90s and emerged as the world's fastest growing economy. Now the whole issue of our magnificent diversity and how the world perceives it with the current political environments in our country raises the question, he said, adding the "challenge to building brand India continues". The essential fact remains that what really matters is not the image but the reality. What really matters is not what we are trying to sell about ourselves but what people think of us, (and) whether we want them to think that way or not, he added. The Thiruvananthapuram MP also talked about the challenges and opportunities that Kerala faces. "There are a number of econ
It will be "impossible" for the BJP to replicate its 2019 electoral triumph in 2024, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor claimed on Friday, and added that it is "conceivable" that the ruling party can lose "50 seats" in the Lok Sabha. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival here, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible. "If you look at how well they (the BJP) did in 2019, they have essentially had every seat in Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan; or all but one seat in Bihar, MP (Madhya Pradesh), Maharashtra; and 18 seats in Bengal. "Now, all of those results are impossible to replicate and the BJP dropping below the majority in 2024 is entirely possible," Tharoor argued during a session titled 'India@75: A walk through the Democratic Institutions'. Terming the Pulwama attacks and the Balakot strike, which he said led to a "tremendous wave"
Unemployment rate among the youth in Kerala is huge and there is a need to make the state more attractive for its younger generation to prevent them from going outside for jobs, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said on Monday. Tharoor, speaking at the inauguration of the 146th Mannam Jayanthi celebration at the Nair Service Society (NSS) headquarters at Perunna in Changanassery here, said unemployment among the youth in Kerala was 40 per cent in June 2022. Mannam Jayanthi is held to celebrate the birth anniversary of NSS founder and social reformer Mannath Padmanabhan. He said only Jammu and Kashmir was in such a situation, but that was due to militancy problems there. "No other state is showing such concerning figures of unemployment among the youth. In other states those uneducated or unskilled are the ones lacking jobs. However, in Kerala everyone is literate, educated and has passed class 10, yet a lot of them do not have jobs," the Thiruvananthapuram MP ...
The Delhi police moved the Delhi High Court on Thursday against the discharge of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in the case of his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death, more than 15 months after a city court let him off, and sought condonation of delay in filing the revision petition. The high court sought Tharoor's response to the plea by the Delhi police and listed the matter for hearing on February 7, 2023. The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram was discharged of all offences like cruelty and abetment to suicide in August 2021, more than seven years after his businesswoman wife Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel in the national capital. Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple had been staying in the hotel as Tharoor's official bungalow was being renovated at the time. After Tharoor's counsel referred to the protracted delay, Justice D K Sharma issued a notice to the Congress leader and sought his reply to the police's ...
The city police on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court's 2021 order discharging Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death case. Justice D K Sharma asked the counsel for the Delhi Police to supply the copy of its petition to Tharoor's counsel, who claimed the plea was not served to him and it was "deliberately" sent on a wrong email id. The high court also issued notice and sought response of Tharoor on an application by police seeking to condone the delay in filing the revision petition against the trial court's August 18, 2021 order. It also directed that copies and documents relating to the case shall not be supplied to any other person except the parties. The high court listed the matter for hearing on February 7, 2023. Tharoor was discharged in the case more than seven years after businesswoman Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel here. Pushkar, a prominent face in Delhi circles, was found dead in a s
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said he was not upset or angry with anyone in the Kerala unit of the party and has no reservations in speaking to anyone as "we are not in kindergarten to refrain from talking to each other". Speaking to media in the port city of Kochi, where he came to attend a state-level conclave of the All India Professionals' Congress, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he has not spoken against anyone in the party or acted against its directives and has no clue why such a controversy has been created. "I am not upset or angry with anyone. I have not blamed or accused anyone. There are no complaints or issues from my end. I have no problem seeing everyone as one and neither do I have any reservations about speaking to anyone," he said before the event. On being asked whether he would be speaking to Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan and Kerala PCC (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran at the event, Tharoor said that the latter was not well an
Apparently rattled by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's Malabar tour, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly, V D Satheesan on Tuesday said any kind of sectarianism or parallel activities would not be allowed in the party and warned that such moves would be dealt with "seriously." The state unit of the Congress is on a comeback path in the state after two consecutive debacles in the Assembly elections and it is not healthy enough to afford any more parallel activities by anyone, Satheesan told reporters here. His remarks come as a significant section of the Congress party in the state was unhappy with Tharoor's ongoing tour. Asked about Tharoor's Malabar tour, Satheesan said every leader has a space within the Congress and no one is against it, but the party has its own mechanisms and systems. "The Congress in Kerala is not at all healthy to afford any more parallel activities...after suffering two drubbings in the assembly polls, the party is on a comeback mode in the state. ...
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday, while continuing his Malabar tour, met senior leaders of UDF-ally IUML at Panakkad here and also said that he fears no one and there is no reason for anyone to fear him. In response to a query by the media as to who was afraid of his tour in Kerala, Tharoor said, "I do not fear anyone and there is no need for anyone to be afraid of me." His remarks assume significance amidst speculation that some of the Congress leadership in Kerala appear to be apprehensive over the increasing support he was enjoying and the emergence of a 'Tharoor group' within the party in the state. Tharoor, however, downplayed his meeting with the IUML leaders at the residence of Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal by saying that it was just a courtesy call on the way to an event in the district. Other senior Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders present there also termed his visit as nothing unusual and said they all go and meet Thangal whenever they pass through the area. The