Thiruvananthapuram: Congress’s Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has asserted that he was not as far from the party’s line as was often portrayed.
The senior Congress leader has been receiving flak in recent months for purportedly deviating from the party’s official line in his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led central government.
On Monday, Tharoor, however, said, “Who said I deviated from the party line? Though I shared my opinions on some subjects, there was no difference of opinion on basic subjects…. Even in my speeches in Parliament, I always had a clear line.”
After the Congress’s two-day brainstorming camp in Wayanad before the 2026 Kerala assembly polls, Shashi Tharoor told the media that his speeches and questions in Parliament aligned with the Congress party. But news reports on them, and especially headlines, turned them controversial, he said.
“I believe in freedom of the press. But when the media summarises a 1,000-word article into a sentence, it loses nuance and detail. When people criticise it, they are seeing just the headlines,” Tharoor said, blaming the media for publishing a few sentences of his speeches, taking them out of context.
Tharoor stated that his birthday wish for L.K. Advani was a “small courtesy” shown to a 98-year-old man and should not be projected as extraordinary.
Tharoor also clarified that he did not praise Modi but merely quoted and shared opinions on a November 2025 speech delivered by the Prime Minister at the 6th Ramnath Goenka Lecture. The Congress leader had called Modi’s speech both an “economic outlook” and a “cultural call to action”, highlighting his focus on transitioning India from an “emerging market” to an “emerging model” and ending post-colonial “slave mentality”.
Asked whether he is interested in contesting the 2026 assembly elections, Tharoor skirted the question, saying that though some leaders had already expressed their interest, the final decision rested with the party leadership. However, he confirmed that he would remain active in Kerala politics despite his parliamentary commitments.
Earlier in the day, videos from the Congress camp surfaced on social media, showing Tharoor engaging and laughing with All India Congress Committee General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Kerala Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Sunny Joseph, among other senior leaders.
Tharoor’s latest statements and visuals assume significance against the backdrop of several of his remarks coming under fire from within the Congress in recent months.
In November 2025, Tharoor came under heavy criticism after he wrote an article—Indian politics are a family business—criticising the political leadership in India as a “birthright”. He named Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with examples from the Biju Janata Dal, the Akali Dal, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The Congress MP also raised eyebrows from within the party and outside after he called the BJP’s first-ever capture of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the 2025 Kerala local body polls a “historic performance” and a “significant victory”.
On Monday, Tharoor said he had been with the Congress for 17 years, so there should be no misunderstanding. He also declared that the party would face the assembly elections this year and win, unitedly.
The Congress has not yet decided on its candidates, but Tharoor said he would remain active this season, citing his campaign across 56 constituencies during COVID-19 as an example.
“Didn’t you see everyone engaging happily? I have been with the party for 17 years, and there is no need for sudden misunderstandings,” he said. “Congress is a democratic party. I stood for the AICC (All India Congress Committee) leadership, but lost. That’s it.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)