THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor seems to be emerging stronger in the state Congress with each passing day. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan’s attack on Tharoor has apparently backfired with senior leaders, including K Muraleedharan and Mullappally Ramachandran, coming out in support of the latter. Moreover, members of the now defunct ‘A’ group are gradually gravitating to the Thiruvananthapuram MP.
Tharoor returned to the state capital on Wednesday after completing his four-day Malabar tour, which observers feel was a runaway success. Interestingly, both Tharoor and Satheesan flew back in the same flight. Talking to reporters on arrival, Tharoor chose not to kick up any controversies even as he subtly responded to Satheesan’s tirade against him on Tuesday.
Tharoor said he doesn’t understand why his Malabar visit and the NSS’ invitation to him to inaugurate Mannam Jayanti have courted controversy. “I see the invitation from the NSS leadership to inaugurate the Mannam Jayanti as a recognition. Whose loss is it if I attend the Mannam Jayanti? It should be checked whether the Leader of Opposition has got the needle to prick the balloon? These questions should be posed to those who raked up the controversy,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said “I met Satheesan on board my flight. I said hello. Since our seats were not near, we couldn’t talk to each other.” Satheesan did not speak to the media at the airport. Tharoor’s supporters assess that the opposite camp’s strategy to isolate him has misfired. It was the Youth Congress Kozhikode district committee’s last-minute decision to withdraw from hosting Tharoor that brought his Malabar tour to limelight. Had they continued with the scheduled programme, it would have passed as a mundane affair, they feel.
Tharoor has reasons to feel elated as he now has the privilege to be invited by the NSS. For quite some time, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair has shut his doors before AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Satheesan and even senior leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Many unhappy with Satheesan’s remark
Satheesan’s remark ridiculing Tharoor hasn’t gone down well with many leaders. A large section within the Congress feels that he should not have made the comment. Meanwhile, Tharoor is garnering support from party workers across the state. The Youth Congress Kottayam district committee, headed by Oommen Chandy loyalists, has decided to hold a seminar with Tharoor at Erattupetta on December 3. In Pathanamthitta, Tharoor will be main speaker at the Bodhigram Youth Conclave, organised by John Samuel who heads the public policy wing of the KPCC, on December 4.