THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Days after his praise of the growth of Kerala’s startup ecosystem under the LDF government drew flak from his party colleagues, prompting Congress high command’s intervention, MP Shashi Tharoor has taken a U-turn. In a post on X, Tharoor said the growth of startups should not remain confined to paper alone.
“Dismayed to see that the Kerala start-up entrepreneurship story is not what’s been reported. The only silver lining is that at least the Government of Kerala’s claims point to the right intentions. We need more MSME start-ups — and not just on paper. Kerala must head this way!,” he posted on X.
Tharoor stated his new position while referring to a report published by a newspaper that highlighted the closure of several small and medium enterprises in the state. “There’s more about what the official numbers conceal,” Tharoor added.
Meanwhile, state Congress president K Sudhakaran welcomed Tharoor’s willingness to change and correct, emphasising that the MP had not made any serious mistakes. “Tharoor has clarified everything he said. I thank him for his big heart,” Sudhakaran said in Kozhikode on Sunday.
Reaffirming his support for Tharoor, Sudhakaran said he would protect him like the apple of his eye.
Tharoor highlights government's ‘right intentions’
Interestingly, even while expressing doubts over the startup claims, Tharoor was careful to highlight the “right intentions” of the LDF government. It was in a column in TNIE on February 13 that Tharoor praised Kerala’s startup ecosystem, quoting the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
The column had also acknowledged that the “transformation” in the startup sector has occurred under a “communist-led LDF government”. The remarks stirred a hornet’s nest with a section of the Congress’ state and central leaders decrying Tharoor’s “praise” of the LDF government.
A few days later, Tharoor came up with a Facebook post clarifying his stance. Tharoor said his remarks were based on the findings of the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report and added that he was ready to correct his stance if there are other credible reports to the contrary.
He also credited former chief minister Oommen Chandy and former industries minister and IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty for placing Kerala on a steep upward growth trajectory in the industrial sector.