Shashi Tharoor

Sanchar Saathi row: Compulsory apps 'troubling' for democracy, says Tharoor

Amid the Sanchar Saathi application row, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling and asserted that the government should explain everything to the public instead of just passing an order. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days. Responding to questions on the issue outside Parliament, Tharoor said, "I have not studied the issue in detail but common sense tells me that these apps can be useful provided they are voluntary. Everyone who needs them should be able to download them." "Making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling. But I need to look more into the logic of the government. The government should explain everything to the public instead of just passing an order that the media reports. We need to have a discussion where the government explains wh

Shashi Tharoor hails Trump-Mamdani meeting as "how democracy should work"

Tharoor's remarks came a day after Trump met Mamdani at the White House, a meeting that drew attention because of their heated exchanges during the New York mayoral campaign

Dynastic politics 'grave threat' to Indian democracy: Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said that dynastic politics across the political spectrum poses a "grave threat" to Indian democracy and asserted it is high time that India traded "dynasty for meritocracy". He said that when political power is determined by lineage rather than ability, commitment or grassroots engagement, the quality of governance suffers. In an article for international media organisation Project Syndicate, the Thiruvananthapuram MP pointed out that while the Nehru-Gandhi family is associated with the Congress, dynastic succession prevails across the political spectrum. Tharoor's remarks come weeks after the row over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack. His comments were at variance with the Congress stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions. In the article titled 'Indian Politics Are a Family Business', Tharoor said that for decades, one family has towered o

Centre moots extending tenure of parliamentary panels to two years

The move follows concerns from lawmakers that the current one-year term is too short for committees to conduct in-depth studies and prepare effective reports

Watch: Shashi Tharoor questions no handshake with Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's remark on the Indian cricket team's decision to not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during the Asia Cup clash have sparked a controversy. On Thursday.

Diaspora's silence on US' policy change targeting India surprising: Tharoor

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday raised the recent adversarial decisions taken by the US aimed at India with a visiting delegation of lawmakers from that country and the "silence" of the Indian-American diaspora over these developments came up during the discussion. All five Congress members from the US are Democrats, who are in the opposition and have been broadly critical of US President Donald Trump's policies. The chairman of the Standing Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, said after the meeting that one of the points the panel members, who are drawn from the ruling as well as opposition parties, raised was why the Indian-American diaspora has been "so silent about all this". Some members of the US delegation headed by Ami Bera, who is of Indian origin, shared the view. Tharoor said, "I do want to stress that one of the points we raised is why the Indian-American diaspora has been so silent about all this. One of the Congressmen said not one phone call has come to h

Don't think we should overreact: Tharoor on Saudi-Pakistan defence pact

Last week, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement", pledging that any aggression against either nation would be treated as an attack on both

135,000 jobs lost in Surat due to Trump's trade tariffs: Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that US tariffs have already led to around 135,000 layoffs in Surat's gems and jewellery sector, with potential job losses looming in seafood and manufacturing

Trump's tariffs hurting India, people losing jobs: Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said the tariffs imposed by the US has impacted India with people already losing jobs, even as he lashed out at American President Donald Trump for being "mercurial" in nature and not honouring conventional standards of diplomatic behaviour. US has imposed a 50 per cent tariff, including 25 per cent as penalty for buying Russian oil, on shipments from India. India needs to diversify export markets to mitigate the impact of tariffs, Tharoor said, adding that 1.35 lakh people have lost jobs in gems and jewelery business in Surat and in seafood and manufacturing sectors. "Mr Trump is a very mercurial individual, and the American system gives the President an amazing amount of leeway," Tharoor said while replying to a query related to Indo-US relationship and imposition of tariffs, at a conference organised by CREDAI, India's apex industry body for real estate sector. Continuing with his opinion about Trump, Tharoor said, "Even though the

Tharoor lauds Sudarshan Reddy after V-P poll loss, says fight is for ideals

Soon after Opposition candidate B Sudarshan Reddy's defeat in the vice presidential polls, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday hailed the former Supreme Court judge and said that sometimes the fight is not about winning or losing but about standing up for one's convictions. His remarks came after NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan was elected the next vice president of India, bagging 452 votes against the opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy's 300. "Sometimes the fight is not about winning or losing but about standing up for your convictions. Pranaams Sudershan Reddy ji," Tharoor said on X. After the results were announced, the Congress said, "The BJP's 'arithmetical' victory in the vice presidential election is both a 'moral and political defeat' for the ruling party. The Congress also asserted that the Opposition stood united in the election with "most respectable" performance." Announcing the result of the vice presidential election this evening, Rajya Sabha Secretar

Much fairer system, better for everyone: Tharoor welcomes GST reforms

Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that US President Donald Trump's "pressure is mounting" and claimed the Union government implemented the GST reforms with elections approaching

Shashi Tharoor calls EC's SIR exercise 'essential', urges transparency

Tharoor stressed that maintaining the credibility of the Election Commission was crucial and that any legitimate concerns raised by the opposition should be addressed fairly

Tharoor warns ban may push online gaming underground, calls for regulation

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday criticised the government's move to ban online money gaming, warning that such a step would only push the industry underground and strengthen criminal networks. He also said he had not studied the three Constitution amendment bills seeking to provide a framework for the removal of prime ministers, Union ministers, chief ministers and state ministers detained on serious criminal charges in any detail. On the face of it, it is difficult to say it has any problem, but obviously if anyone does something wrong they should not be a minister anyway. I don't know if there is any other motive, he remarked. Discussing the bill seeking to prohibit and regulate online gaming introduced in the Lok Sabha, he said, "I had written a very long article on the argument that by banning online gaming we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could be a useful source of revenue for the government if we legalise it, regulate it and tax it." He added that

India won't take first step to normalise ties, onus on Pakistan: Tharoor

India no longer has the appetite to take the first step in normalising ties with Pakistan after repeated betrayals, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday, urging Islamabad to demonstrate sincerity by dismantling terror networks operating from its soil. He was speaking at the launch of the book "Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today?", an anthology edited by former ambassador Surendra Kumar. The Thiruvananthapuram MP said every Indian attempt at outreach -- from Jawaharlal Nehru's pact with Liaqat Ali Khan in 1950, to Atal Bihari Vajpayee's bus journey to Lahore in 1999, and Narendra Modi's Lahore visit in 2015 -- had been "betrayed" by hostility from across the border. "Given the record of Pakistani behaviour, the onus is on them. They're the ones who have to take the first steps to show some sincerity about dismantling terror infrastructure on their soil. "Why can't they be serious about shutting down these terror camps? Everyone knows where they are. The UN ...

EC can restore credibility by addressing election fairness doubts: Tharoor

The Election Commission's own interest lies in addressing these questions, Tharoor said

Committee reports, legislative business to be discussed in Lok Sabha today

The Standing Committee on Finance will table its 25th report on the 'Evolving Role of the Competition Commission of India in the Economy, particularly the Digital Landscape'

We should impose 50% levy on US goods: Shashi Tharoor on Trump tariffs

Shashi Tharoor's remarks were in response to the additional 25 per cent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on account of India's oil imports from Russia

Cutting fertiliser subsidy not viable despite green push, says Tharoor

Expressing concern over fertiliser overuse, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that reducing fertiliser subsidies remains "politically unviable" while highlighting how Green Revolution architect Prof M S Swaminathan prioritised natural resource protection. Speaking at the launch of Priyambada Jayakumar's book on Swaminathan, Tharoor emphasised the late agricultural scientist's holistic vision. "His whole concept of economic growth was that it wouldn't simply trickle down but rise up from the soil. The Green Revolution wasn't just about higher-yielding wheat varieties but generating employment, enhancing livelihoods, and empowering the rural poor," he said. Drawing from his parliamentary experience, Tharoor noted the political challenges. "I briefly chaired the committee on chemicals and fertilisers. It was packed with people simply not prepared to contemplate any subsidy reduction... Politically, it won't be viable," he observed. However, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

Tharoor urges Centre, states to align efforts for clean air solutions

Batting for concerted action to tackle air pollution, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has called on the Central government and states to work together, alongside experts, industry, civil society and citizens, to align efforts and implement scalable solutions -- from clean transport to cleaner fuels. Noting that air pollution transcends economic, social and political divides and is both a grave public health crisis and an environmental emergency, Tharoor said it demands not just our best ideas, but our collective courage and concerted action across sectors and states. The Thiruvananthapuram MP made the remarks at a high-level roundtable on 'Clean Air and Public Health: Advancing Collective Action' at the India Habitat Centre here on Tuesday. Hosted by Tharoor and convened by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and AirQualityAsia (AQA), the dialogue was the seventh such roundtable since 2017 that brings together India's leading air quality experts, policymakers, health ...

Trump hits India with 50% tariff: Tharoor slams US, experts warn of GDP hit

After US President Trump announced an extra 25% tariff on Indian goods over Russian oil imports, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called it a 'double standard', while economists warned of a hit to India