THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOZHIKODE/MALAPPURAM: The Congress leadership in Kerala has found itself in an embarrassing situation after party MP Shashi Tharoor praised the Left government for its new industrial policies. In an article in The New Indian Express on Friday, Tharoor had highlighted the government's achievements in fostering a positive startup ecosystem and introducing new industrial policies in the article. Soon Industries Minister P Rajeeve shared the article on social media, thanking the Congress leader for acknowledging the government's achievements.
In the article, Tharoor cited that between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023, Kerala's startup ecosystem recorded a remarkable 254% compound annual growth rate -- far exceeding the global average of 46%. He also praised Rajeeve's recent announcement that businesses could now be opened in Kerala within "two minutes." Additionally, Tharoor pointed out that Kerala significantly improved its ease of doing business ranking, moving from 28th (out of 29 states) to a top position.
Tharoor's article offered the ruling LDF a chance to refute the opposition UDF's claims that the state has been lagging in development and economic growth. Unhappy with Tharoor's stance, the UDF leadership is reportedly planning to escalate the matter to the Congress high command.
The Congress leadership in the state reacted sharply to Tharoor's article. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan rejected Tharoor's claims and questioned the basis of his remarks. "Kerala does not have a great industrial environment, though we aspire to improve it. We do not know on what basis or using what statistics Shashi Tharoor wrote his article," he said.
"The industries minister claims that three lakh enterprises were established in Kerala over the past three and a half years. If that was true, at least 2,000 enterprises should have been started in each constituency. We should not count bakeries and small shops set up by Gulf returnees as enterprises. We do not agree with the claim that three lakh businesses were launched. The party will examine the circumstances under which Tharoor made such a statement," Satheesan said.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also dismissed the view that Kerala is business-friendly. "If someone opens a tailoring shop in Kerala, it is still counted as an enterprise under Minister Rajeev's record. Small-scale ventures like these emerge naturally. Including them in the government's industrial growth figures is misleading. Tharoor has likely been misinformed about Kerala's reality. Here, industries are not started in a minute -- they are shut down in a minute, a skill the CPM has mastered. This has been demonstrated repeatedly in the past," Chennithala said.
Congress leader K Muraleedharan took a dig at Tharoor, saying ordinary Congress leaders like himself could not comment on matters involving a "global citizen" like Tharoor.
"The national leadership of the Congress should respond to Shashi Tharoor's article. He is a member of the Congress Working Committee and a global citizen. It would be inappropriate for ordinary Congress workers like us to comment on matters concerning such individuals. Let the Congress high command take appropriate action. The views of Tharoor are not the opinion of the Congress in Kerala. We do not support the policies of the Left government, and both the party and the UDF will continue protests against the state government," Muraleedharan said.
Even as his article triggered a storm in the Congress, Tharoor reiterated his earlier position saying that when someone does something good, it should be appreciated.
Meanwhile the CPM leadership came out in support of Tharoor. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was a factual statement about the development achieved by Kerala, without naming Tharoor.
Pinarayi said a people's representative who understands things has made it clear that the development of the state is a model for the world and the country. "Our state's infrastructural development is a model for the country and the world. A representative who understands the issues in detail has made it clear to our society by citing facts. He did not give an ordinary speech. His statements were based on facts and numbers,' said Pinarayi. "If we calculate the development of start-ups in the IT sector in the world, Kerala has achieved many times the level of the world. That is what he pointed out with data," Pinarayi added.
Meanwhile, Satheesan also disagreed with Tharoor's view that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the US was a success. "Modi's visit cannot be considered successful. None of India's key demands were addressed as a result of the visit. Moreover, it did not bring even the slightest change in Trump's stance towards India. The US has adopted a tough position on economic cooperation, including in export and import sectors. Modi's visit failed to bring any improvement in this regard," he added.