THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : A day after former state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran unleashed his tirade against Shashi Tharoor, MP, urging that the Congress central leadership should tame him, his successor K Sudhakaran, MP, informed on Saturday that the party has sought an explanation from him on his controversial stand on the SilverLine project.
Sudhakaran came out against Tharoor citing that he is a “world citizen” who does not settle down within the circle of Congress. Mullapally had openly come out against Tharoor on Friday for his statement that on some issues it is necessary to put political differences aside. He felt antagonised further after Tharoor did not sign the memorandum along with other UDF MPs claiming that he wanted to study the issue first before joining hands with them.
This is not the first time Tharoor had taken a different stand from the Congress leadership. On the Sabarimala women entry issue and later in the privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport also Tharoor had taken a different stand. On the Thiruvananthapuram airport issue, the then state Congress president Mullapally had sought an explanation from Tharoor. But Mullapally never took any action against him following his descriptive statement.
Tharoor’s tweet on Friday eulogising Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also did not go down well with a section of Congress leaders. He had tweeted, “Enjoyed discussing Kerala’s development with CM Pinarayi Vijayan. On some issues, it is necessary to put political differences aside & get on with growth. The young people of our state deserve opportunities that the current economic situation does not offer them.”
Informing that the party has sought an explanation from Tharoor, the state Congress president on Saturday did not hide his disappointment when the media repeatedly grilled him about his party colleague’s non-cooperation to the protest against SilverLine.
“Tharoor has seen the world, but that doesn’t mean that he can catch fish in troubled waters. There are several leaders in the party who follow different views, but everyone has to abide by the party. My request to him is also that he will have to toe the line of the party. I have asked him to come and meet me. I am hoping that he will then explain about his stand”, said Sudhakaran. Tharoor is yet to react to the hullabaloo he has created over the last two days.