Face of Nation : A section of the Congress leadership in Kerala is unhappy with Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be praised whenever he says or does the right thing as it adds credibility to the criticisms of the party.
Tharoor has backed former union minister Jairam Ramesh and senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who took a similar stand. His remarks have not done down well with senior leaders including Lok Sabha MPs.
K Muraleedharan, the party MP from Vadakara, told reporters, “When a prime minister butchers democracy in such an inglorious manner, which act of his has been praise-worthy? Some leaders seem to think that we could have won the election if we had praised Modi once or twice in between. One thing is clear. It’s not possible for Congress leaders to hide Modi’s mistakes or glorify him. Why should we praise Modi? If people want to praise him, they can go to BJP and do the same.”
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala echoed the same concerns. “Whatever one may say, Modi’s dreadful actions cannot be hidden away. If he does one good thing after committing 100 bad things, there’s no need to praise him. His government’s actions are unacceptable for our society and our people,” he said.
To which Tharoor replied at a function, “Jairam Ramesh was in the manifesto committee. Does he need to be taught lessons? I have been the people’s representative for the last ten years. I don’t need to be taught lessons by anyone.”
Congress’ Thrissur MP TN Prathapan has even gone to the extent of writing a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi expressing his disappointment with the statements of party leaders about the prime minister.
“I really don’t get what type of narrative these leaders want to put forward amidst all the undemocratic and autocratic regime of Modi is strengthening. Mr Narendra Modi is a complete dictator and his regime is suffocating to many of Indians,” Prathapan wrote.
