THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In his first public response to Congress high command’s decision to drop him from the list of leaders it submitted to the government to be included in the delegation formed by the Union government, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that it would not be easy to humiliate him.
“I have my own value,” he added. “The government has invited me after consultation with my party. I have also informed my party about my decision. Let the party decide. Politics is relevant only if there is a nation. When the government asks the representatives of political parties to work for the nation, I am bound to act. If the government asks its citizens to act for the nation, what should be the answer of a citizen?” he asked.
Tharoor said that the government has invited him as he is the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. “It is the Speaker who had appointed me as the chairperson. The government has told me that it is my responsibility to be part of this delegation as leader. And I accepted it. In my knowledge, though I was not in India at the time of the Mumbai terrorist attack of 2008, the-then Manmohan Singh government had also sent a delegation of MPs to various countries. When a terrorist attack happens, it is good that we all stand united and speak in one voice. I think it is good for Bharath. The Congress leadership knows about my ability and inability. The media can ask about it. The party leadership has the power to take a position. However, this is a government delegation. Hence, the government’s opinion will be different from that of a political party,” he added.