Reports about 'praising Modi' irritates me: Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said it irritates him a lot when it is reported that he has praised the prime minister whereas he only suggested that the party should figure out why people voted for Narendra Modi again in 2019.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP has been facing criticism within his party with the Kerala Congress asking him to clarify his remarks in support of party colleague Jairam Ramesh who asked the Congress to stop demonising Modi.

"Give me an example, which statements I have supported. The problem is media reports are completely unfounded. Frankly, it irritates me greatly whenever media talks about 'Tharoor's praise for Modi'," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by NSUI at Delhi University.

A few days ago Tharoor had remarked, "As you know, I have argued for six years now that Narendra Modi should be praised whenever he says or does the right thing, which would add credibility to our criticisms whenever he errs. I welcome others in opposition coming around to a view for which I was excoriated at the time."