News Analysis India

Tag: Shashi Tharoor

  • Well within Parliament panel’s mandate to seek clarification from Centre on ‘manipulated media’ issue: Tharoor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing ‘toolkit’ row, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the parliamentary panel on information and technology had written to the IT ministry over its communication with Twitter on the ‘manipulated media’ issue and has received a detailed reply on it.

    Hitting back at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who had accused him of using his position as chairman of the panel to tarnish the image of the Centre, Tharoor asserted that it was well within the mandate of the committee to seek a clarification on Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MEITY) “contacts” with Twitter on the ‘manipulated media’ issue.

    In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the BJP MP, who is a member of the panel, had referred to some recent remarks made by Tharoor on the Union government on the “toolkit issue”, and alleged that the Congress leader was “misusing” his official position to “tarnish” the image of the Union government as well as Parliament by raising issues which are outside the purview of the parliamentary panel.

    Taking to Twitter, Tharoor said that with reference to allegations circulated publicly recently by a member of the Parliamentary Committee on IT relating to the ‘manipulated media’ issue, it is clarified that given the committee’s inability to meet in current circumstances, it communicates with ministries in writing as required.

    On the subject of the IT ministry’s “contacts with Twitter” on ‘Manipulated Media’, the Committee Secretariat wrote to MEITY by email and received a detailed and comprehensive reply dated May 26, which is being circulated to all members for their information, Tharoor said in a series of tweets.

    ALSO READ | Facebook seeks time, Twitter mum as compliance window for IT rules closes

    The committee is already examining the subject ‘safeguarding citizens’ rights & prevention of misuse of social/online media platforms” which relates to this issue, he said.

    It is therefore well within the committee’s mandate to seek a clarification on this matter from the ministry concerned, Tharoor asserted.

    In a jibe at Dubey, he said, “As a matter of established practice and good form, members with issues to raise relating to the work of a parliamentary committee are advised to communicate directly with the Chairman and/or the Committee Secretariat, rather than ventilating their concerns in the media without discussion.”

    Hours after a BJP spokesperson’s tweets on an alleged ‘toolkit’ on the Centre’s COVID-19 response were labelled as ‘manipulated media’, the government on Friday had asked Twitter to remove the tag, saying the social media platform cannot pass judgment on a matter under investigation.

    MEITY wrote “a strong communication” to Twitter registering objection to the use of ‘manipulated media’ tag on certain tweets, according to sources.

    ALSO READ | WhatsApp moves Delhi HC against govt on new social media intermediary rules: Sources

    The BJP had accused the Congress of creating a ‘toolkit’ that seeks to tarnish the image of the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the handling of the Covid pandemic.

    However, the Congress denied the allegation and claimed that the BJP is propagating a fake ‘toolkit’ to defame it.

    Last week, Twitter labelled as “manipulated media” a tweet by Sambit Patra on the alleged ‘toolkit’.

    Twitter says it “may label tweets that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated”.

  • Floccinaucinihilipilification: Tharoor’s latest tongue-twister in friendly banter with KTR

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, known for his penchant for rarely used, difficult-to-pronounce English words, on Friday threw in another head scratcher, floccinaucinihilipilification.

    The noun, which had Twitterati once again running for their dictionaries, came up as Tharoor engaged in friendly banter with TRS working president K T Rama Rao over COVID-19 medicine names.

    Oxford dictionary describes floccinaucinihilipilification as “the action or habit of estimating something as worthless”.

    It started with Rama Rao, or KTR as he is popularly called, wondering why medicine names are so tough to pronounce.

    “On a lighter note, any idea who comes up with this unpronounceable names for meds? – Posaconazole – Cresemba – Tocilzumab – Remdesivir – Liposomal Amphoterecin – Flavipiravir – Molnupiravir – Baricitinib. And the list goes on,” he said on Thursday night.

    He tagged the tweet and added in another post, tongue firmly in cheek, “I suspect @ShashiTharoor Ji Pakka has a role to play in this.”

    Tharoor responded to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader, popularly known as KTR, in the same spirit.

    “Not guilty! How can you indulge in such floccinaucinihilipilification, @KTRTRS?” “Left to me I’d happily call them “CoroNil”, “CoroZero”, & even “GoCoroNaGo!” But these pharmacists are more procrustean,” the MP from Thiruvnanthapuram tweeted.

    The author-politician had slipped in another not-used-so-often word.

    But there was scarcely any attention on “procrustean’, an adjective defined by Oxford as “(especially of a framework or system) enforcing uniformity or conformity without regard to natural variation or individuality”.

    The focus was on the many-syllabled floccinaucinihilipilification — 29 letters and three more than the English alphabet.

    According to the Cambridge dictionary, “The honour of being the longest non-technical word goes to floccinaucinihilipilification.”

    It also said it’s an 18th-century coinage that combines four Latin prefixes meaning “nothing”.

    Several people responded to Tharoor’s post, with many joking about how difficult it was to pronounce the word and many others sharing memes on it.

    Tharoor has been a man of many words earlier too.

    In the past, he has stumped people with rarely used English words such as “farrago” and “troglodyte”.

    While farrago means a confused mixture, a troglodyte means a person regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.

  • Sunanda Pushkar case: Court defers order on framing of charges against Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday adjourned for a month the order on framing of charges against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel here.

    Special Judge Geetanjli Goel deferred the pronouncement of order in view of the coronavirus pandemic for June 16.

    The court had on April 12 reserved the order after hearing arguments from the counsel appearing for Delhi Police as well as Tharoor.

    During the arguments, while police had sought framing of various charges, including 306 (abetment of suicide), Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, told the court that the investigation conducted by the SIT completely exonerated the politician of all the charges levelled against him.

    Pahwa sought Tharoor’s discharge in the case, saying there was no evidence against him to prove the offence punishable under either section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) or 306 (abetment of suicide) of IPC.

    Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014.

    The couple was staying in the hotel, as the official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at that time.

    Tharoor was charged under sections 498A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code by Delhi police, but was not arrested in the case.

    He was granted bail on July 5, 2018.

  • Naya Bharat, where we make virtue out of sympathy earned by failures: Shashi Tharoor’s swipe at Centre

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Taking a dig at the government over foreign aid in the wake of the COVID-19 second wave, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said ‘Naya Bharat’ is one where a virtue is made out of the sympathy earned by failures and “governmental apathy that led us to needing it” is denied or glossed over.

    In his tweet attacking the Centre, Tharoor tagged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s tweet on the aid of oxygen, Remdesivir vials and other COVID-19-related medical assistance India is getting from various countries.

    “From US to Singapore, Germany to Thailand. The world continues to stand with India,” Jaishankar had tweeted Sunday.

    “Naya Bharat” – Where we make a virtue out of the sympathy earned by our failures and deny or gloss over the governmental apathy that led to us needing it. #Parmatmanirbharta https://t.co/1LFBqSWMfq
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 10, 2021

    In a swipe at the government, Tharoor said, “Naya Bharat – Where we make a virtue out of the sympathy earned by our failures and deny or gloss over the governmental apathy that led to us needing it.”

    He used the hashtag ‘Parmatmanirbharta’, in a dig at the government initiative of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

    As India reels under a calamitous second wave of the coronavirus infection, it has received large amounts of medical supplies from a significant number of countries, including the US, Russia, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Romania, Singapore, Sweden and Kuwait.

    The Congress had last week also demanded transparency and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public the details of all the relief material received by India from different countries.

  • Sad to see Health Ministry occupy ‘alternative reality’ as India ‘gasps for breath’: Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor attacked Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday over his remarks that no fresh COVID-19 cases have been detected in 180 districts in the last seven days, saying it is sad to see the health minister occupy an “alternative reality while the nation gasps for breath”.

    In his virtual address at the 25th meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Saturday to discuss the pandemic situation, Vardhan said 180 districts have showed no fresh cases in the last seven days, 18 districts reported no cases in 14 days, 54 districts reported no infections in 21 days and 32 districts were bereft of any fresh cases in the last 28 days.

    Tagging Vardhan’s remarks, Tharoor tweeted, “It’s sad to see Health Minister @drharshvardhan occupy an alternative reality while the nation gasps for breath & the world sees Indians suffering.”

    “Can one imagine Dr Fauci (and White House Chief Medical Adviser) celebrating SMSs, promoting faux medicines & endorsing unproven therapies? No one believes our figures,” the former Union minister said.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Tharoor also tagged another tweet of Vardhan a few days ago in which he had noted that “our world-class Co-WIN platform ensured smooth rollout of beneficiary registration for Phase 3 of world’s largest vaccine drive”.

    Vardhan mentioned in that tweet that in just three hours, 80 lakh people registered, 1.45 crore SMS were successfully delivered and 38.3 crore API hits recorded.

    Taking a swipe at Vardhan, Tharoor tweeted, “SMS delivered as an indication of success in fighting #Covid?” The Congress leader also tagged a media report which claimed that the Indian Medical Association has demanded an explanation from Vardhan for “promoting” Patanjali’s Coronil tablet, and tweeted, “Would love to see that explanation! The nation wants to know…” In another tweet, Tharoor asked why is the government not spending the Rs 35,000 crore allocated in the budget and instead passing the burden of vaccine costs to states.

    “Once Parliament has approved it, why does the government sit on the money? There’s a record GST collection & windfall gains from fuel taxes.

    Buy vaccines!!” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    Tharoor also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Central Vista project by tagging two old media reports — one quoting the PM as saying that every Indian will have a house in 2022 and the other on December 2022 being set as the deadline for readying the PM’s new house as part of the Central Vista project.

    “No wonder they call him the Pratham Sevak!!” Tharoor tweeted.

  • BJP has met its match in Bengal and lost: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday hailed Mamata Banerjee for her “spectacular victory” in the West Bengal Assembly polls and said the BJP has met its match in Bengal and lost.

    Tharoor, who campaigned extensively for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Kerala polls, also expressed disappointment with the results in the state where the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front was all set to retain power with a thumping mandate.

    “It’s a day of disappointment for many of my friends and colleagues in @INCKerala. You fought a good fight. The energy and commitment I’ve seen from you is the party’s greatest strength,” Tharoor said.

    “We must not be disheartened. There is work ahead to renew and revive our party, and to serve the people,” he said in a series of tweets.

    Tharoor congratulated Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan “for his remarkable re-election, a first in 44 years”.

    “It is our duty to respect the confidence the people have shown in him and his government. In the fight against COVID and communalism, he (Vijayan) should have our support,” tweeted the MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

    Hailing Mamata Banerjee on the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) performance in Bengal, Tharoor said on Twitter, “Congratulations to @MamataOfficial Mamata Banerjee on her spectacular victory over the forces of communalism and intolerance.”

    “The voters of Bengal (and especially Nandigram) have demonstrated where their hearts lie. The BJP has met its match in Bengal, and lost,” he tweeted.

    The TMC was ahead in 209 of the 292 seats in the West Bengal polls, way over the victory mark of 147.

    The BJP was leading on 80 seats.

    Tharoor also congratulated DMK chief M K Stalin on the “convincing and decisive” victory in Tamil Nadu polls.

    “All Congress workers are happy to be allied with a party that will restore good governance to Tamil Nadu. Together we must stand for co-operative federalism & #InclusiveIndia,” he said of the DMK-Congress alliance win.

    After a decade in opposition, the DMK was on course to capture power from the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu as per the trends made available for the 234 seats.

  • Shashi Tharoor admitted in Delhi hospital days after testing positive for COVID

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who had tested positive for coronavirus last week, was on Sunday admitted to a private hospital in the national capital, sources said.

    They said the 65-year-old was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar.

    He is stable and doing fine, they said.

    Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, reported on April 21 that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

  • Tharoor apologises for his wrong tweet on Sumitra Mahajan

    By PTI
    INDORE: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday spoke to former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s son and apologised for his tweet, which wrongly talked about the BJP veteran’s death.

    Tharoor and few media organisations had on Thursday announced the demise of Mahajan (78).

    However, the Congress MP and others had later deleted the tweets after BJP leaders pointed out that she was fine.

    On Friday, Tharoor said in a tweet, “Spoke to Sumitra Mahajan ji’s son to convey my sincere apologies at last night’s misinformation. He was most gracious & understanding. Delighted to hear she is very much better. Expressed my best wishes to her & her family.”

    After the Thursday night tweets by Tharoor and others about her demise, Mahajan was heard in an audio clip saying, “What should I do? These people carried the news without any confirmation. They should have at least confirmed with the district administration in Indore.”

    “The Central government and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla should take note of this,” the BJP veteran said in the clip.

    “This became all-India news. I started getting calls from my relatives in Mumbai. My brother’s daughter responded to Tharoor’s tweet asking who gave him this fake news,” she said.

    The former Lok Sabha speaker’s younger son Mandar also put out a video clip Thursday night, saying that his mother was perfectly fine and asked people not to believe the false news about her.

    Mahajan, popularly known as ‘Tai’ (elder sister in Marathi) had represented the Indore Lok Sabha seat eight times in a row from 1989 to 2014.

     

  • ‘Lok Sabha Speaker should look into news of my death’: Sumitra Mahajan hits out at Tharoor, media

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A popular misquote attributed to Mark Twain states: The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

    On Friday, it was the turn of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan (78) to announce that she is very much alive.

    Her ‘clarification’ came after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and some media outlets Thursday night announced the demise of Mahajan.

    Tharoor and others deleted the tweets after BJP leaders pointed out that she was hale and hearty.

    “What should I do? These people carried the news without any confirmation. They should have at least confirmed with the district administration in Indore,” Mahajan is heard saying in an audio clip.

    “The Central government and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla should take note of this,” the BJP veteran says in the clip.

    “This became all-India news. I started getting calls from my relatives in Mumbai. My brother’s daughter responded to Tharoor’s tweet asking who gave him this fake news.”

    Mahajan also wondered why some Mumbai news channels, in particular, flashed the fake news of her demise.

    After deleting the tweet, Tharoor had said he was relieved that Mahajan is doing fine and said he banked on “a reliable source” in putting out his tweet.

    The former Lok Sabha speaker’s son Mandar put out a video clip Thursday night, saying his mother is perfectly fine and asked people not to believe the false news about her.

    Mahajan was the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2014 to 2019.

    She earlier represented the Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament for eight terms.

  • Disrespect shown must be addressed diplomatically: Shashi Tharoor on US Navy’s operation in India’s EEZ

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The US did not break international law when its Navy ship carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone last week, but it did show “disrespect” which must be addressed diplomatically, senior Congress leader and former UN under-secretary-general Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday.

    India on Friday had conveyed concerns to the United States over its Navy ship carrying out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

    India’s reaction came after the US Navy, in an unusual move, announced that one of its ships conducted patrols in the Indian EEZ on April 7, without seeking consent from India.

    Responding to the episode, Tharoor put out a series of tweets in which he argued that the best way forward was for India to extract an explicit undertaking from the US to inform it in advance as a courtesy before undertaking such operations and not to publicise the “fact that they have thumbed their noses at us”.

    ALSO READ | Pentagon defends US Navy’s operation in Indian waters

    “There’s understandable anger in India over the US Seventh Fleet sailing near Lakshadweep in waters that are part of our exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

    However, there is nothing in UNCLOS (the Law of the Sea) that supports India’s stand on freedom of navigation through the EEZ,” he said.

    The Americans are essentially doing near Lakshadweep exactly what they are insisting on doing in and through the South China Sea under the same Freedom of Navigation principle (FoNoPs), Tharoor said.

      The US can be accused of not respecting our sensibilities but not of breaking international law, the former Union minister said.

    “Some ask why the US has done to India what it hasn’t done to Canada/UK/Australia etc. by exercising FoNoPs through their EEZs. Since those are treaty allies, they have consultation agreements already in place with the US. India (is) not, & is unlikely to ever be, an ally,” he argued.

    “So the best we can hope for is an explicit undertaking to (1) inform India in advance as a courtesy and (2) not to publicise the fact that they have thumbed their noses at us.

    Our diplomacy should have negotiated this; nothing better would have been possible,” Tharoor said.

    ALSO READ | US Navy’s freedom of navigation operation in Indian EEZ without consent concerns nation

    The US hasn’t signed UNCLOS, but since FoNoPs is not in UNCLOS, the legal position is irrelevant, the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    “We need a pragmatic political approach rather than outrage about a legal breach that hasn’t occurred. There has been discourtesy & disrespect, which must be addressed diplomatically,” Tharoor asserted.

    The US Navy, in a statement, had announced last week that it asserted navigational rights and freedoms inside India’s EEZ without seeking the country’s prior consent.

    “This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims,” the US 7th fleet said in a statement.

    In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs had said, “The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of the USA through diplomatic channels.”

    It had also said India’s stated position has been that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not authorise other countries to carry out military exercises or manoeuvres in an EEZ and on the continental shelf without the consent of the coastal nation.