Cong leaders in Kerala take on Tharoor for remarks praising PM

Shashi Tharoor came under criticism from senior party colleagues in Kerala on Sunday for his comments that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be praised for doing the right things but the Congress MP remained unfazed, saying there was nothing wrong in his stand.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala said the "wrong doings" of the Modi government cannot be "ignored", while state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said Tharoor's statement was "unfortunate" and he would speak to him.

They were reacting to views of Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP, that praising the Prime Minister for doing the right things would lend credibility to the Opposition's criticism.

Tharoor and his colleague Abishek Singhvi had last week supported party leader Jairam Ramesh who has said that not recognising Modi's work and "demonising" him all the time was not going to help.

Replying to questions from reporters at Haripad in Alapuzha on Tharoor's stand, Chennithala said the Centre was taking decisions which were 'unacceptable' to the people and there was no need to glorify Modi over one good act.

"The Congress will continue to fight against the Modi government's wrong policies," he said.

"There is no need to glorify Modi over one good act after his government committed thousands of wrong doings. Modi's rules and his actions are not supported by the people and so there is no need to glorify his acts", the senior party leader alleged.

Ramachandran told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that Tharoor had vehemently opposed the BJP-NDA government for five years.

"I do not know what change has come in the last one week. I do not know how he can back the Modi government now", he said adding he would speak to him over the matter.

Party president Sonia Gandhi had on August 22 lashed out against Modi government, he said adding Tharoor's statement was "unfortunate" and he should not have made it publicly but before the Congress parliamentary party.

Tharoor on his part on Sunday defended the remarks made by him, Singhvi and Jairam Ramesh.

"What Jairam Ramesh and Singhvi have said is not wrong. If Modi has done something good, we should acknowledge it. Otherwise we will lose credibility among the people. If there is need, we should severely criticise him," he told a Malayalam TV channel.

Former union minister Jairam Ramesh had recently said Modi's model was not a "complete negative story" and not recognising his work and demonising him all the time is not going to help.

"It is time we recognise Modi's work and what he did between 2014 and 2019 due to which he was voted back to power by over "30 per cent of the electorate", he had said on Wednesday.