Revanth’s comments unwarranted, says Shashi Tharoor

Telangana PCC chief expresses regret, withdraws his remarks against Congress MP

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Revanth Reddy (R). File

Telangana Information Technology (IT) Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday accused Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy of using derogatory language against Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor for commending the State government’s work.

Mr. Tharoor told The Hindu that such a reaction from Mr. Reddy was “unwarranted” and could have been based on “inaccurate information”.

Mr. Reddy, who is perceived as close to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, said Mr. Rao was spreading “fake news”.

However, he subsequently expressed his regret and withdrew his reported comments against Mr. Tharoor.

“I spoke to shri @ShashiTharoor ji to convey that I hereby withdraw the remarks and reiterate that I hold my senior colleague in the highest regard. I regret any hurt that may have been caused to him by my words. We share our faith in the values and policies of the Congress Party. And I know he joins me in wanting Congress to win the support of the public to form the next government in Telangana,” Mr. Reddy tweeted late on Thursday night.

Earlier, Mr. Rao, who is also the working president of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), had tweeted, “As the chairman of the IT standing committee, Shashi Tharoor Ji had paid some compliments to the efforts of the Govt of Telangana recently.”

Last week, Mr. Tharoor visited Hyderabad where he is supposed to have appreciated the efforts of the State government.

“I was in Hyderabad leading the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology and my comments were confined to appreciating the government’s work in the information technology sector,” Mr. Tharoor said. “Such a reaction was totally unwarranted and may have been based on inaccurate information about what I said and the circumstances in which it was said.”

Sources close to Mr. Reddy said the Telangana Congress chief did not use any derogatory language against Mr. Tharoor.

Tagging Mr. Reddy, Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari tweeted, “Dr @ShashiTharoor is a valued colleague of yours & mine. It would have been better if you would have spoken to him if you had some misgivings about a purported statement of his. Grace & Propriety demands you withdraw your words.”