Congress Working Committee member A.K. Antony on Friday obliquely stated that his party did not approve of Shashi Tharoor’s action praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Replying to questions, Mr. Antony said he did not wish to comment on Mr. Tharoor’s statement since he headed the Congress Disciplinary Committee. But he went on to state that the panel had on a previous occasion directed Mr. Tharoor to desist from coming out with statements supporting Mr. Modi.
The KPCC had preferred its complaint against Mr. Tharoor for his pro-Modi stance on the Swachch Bharat Abhyan issue. Mr. Tharoor’s pro-Modi references had stirred up a row in Kerala. “The committee had asked Mr. Tharoor to be guarded in his statements,” Mr. Antony observed.
Mr. Antony maintained that Mr. Tharoor’s statement had not created any confusion among party workers or leaders. The Congress wanted to expose the communal polarisation agenda of the Modi government. He did not want to politicise the ongoing investigation against Mr. Tharoor in the Sunanda Pushkar murder case and would rather let the law take its course.
Moreover, the question whether Modi and his team were the best was irrelevant because the people had been listening to only lengthy orations during the eight-month rule which did not benefit the common man, farmers, youths, and others.
“The Modi government appears to be determined to undo the development policies of the UPA government through ordinances. The party will soon launch a series of agitations against the NDA government’s policies,” he said.
He said that installation of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, should not be allowed on Indian soil and Mr. Modi and not the Centre should take the initiative to prevent this.
