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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said he was bemused by the row over his apparent praise for Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's industrial policy in Kerala
After his article in an English daily drew criticism from his fellow Congress leaders in Kerala , Tharoor said that his article does not seek to be a survey of the entire Kerala economy, which "remains in dire straits". He said that he wrote in the article about the specific subject, the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone. "First of all, I wrote it as a Kerala MP on one specific subject, the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone," Tharoor said in a post on X. He said that the LDF government built on the initiative undertaken by former Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who established the Start-Up Village and the State's Start-Up Mission. "As a Congressman, I am proud that this builds on an initiative undertaken by former chief minister @OomenChandy, who established the Start-Up Village and the State's Start-Up Mission in the first place -- which the present government has built upon," he said. "Second, the article does not seek to be a survey of the entire Kerala economy, which remains in dire straits, as i have repeatedly pointed out --featuring high unemployment; massive out-migration, especially of educated youth; crisis in agriculture, esp the rubber, cashew, pineapple and rubber sectors; and a record level of debt," he added. Tharoor said that when something good emerges, it is petty not to acknowledge it. "There is MUCH more to be done. But when something good emerges, even if only in one area, it is petty not to acknowledge it. I based myself principally on the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, and on the specific facts & figures cited in my article," he said. "Final request: read the article before you comment on a one-line summary! It doesn't mention party politics, but speaks of things Kerala needs to do to get out of the economic doldrums -- changes I have been demanding in the state during all my 16 years in politics," he added. Congress leader K Muraleedharan said, "What Tharoor said is not the stand of the Congress in Kerala. The national leadership should answer. Tharoor's stand is not acceptable to the Congressmen in Kerala. Tharoor is a national leader and a global citizen. As an ordinary worker, I am not the person to judge Tharoor's statement." CPM State Secretary MV Govindan said, "Shashi Tharoor's article has effectively highlighted the realities of Kerala's industrial growth. It clearly shows how Kerala moved from the 28th position to the top. The article also states that Kerala has achieved five times growth on a global scale. Tharoor has made an effort to present Kerala's industrial progress accurately to the world, and I congratulate him for that. His article holds significant value. Naturally, this will create issues within the UDF. There is nothing wrong with inviting Shashi Tharoor to be part of our party's seminars." Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said, "Shashi Tharoor's praise of Pinarayi Vijayan and UDF's declaration of joint protest with LDF, has once again proved that both LDF and UDF are friends all over and put up a mock fight in Kerala. Voters of Kerala will teach them lesson for this deception . Mr Tharoor, you know very well that there were only 400 start-ups in 2014 in the country, Now it is 1,40,000. This is the credit of Narendra Modi." (ANI)
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