News Analysis India

Tag: Shashi Tharoor

  • Want both Palestinians & Israelis to live in peace and dignity, says Tharoor

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  With the Congress under attack from the BJP for its support to the people of Palestine, MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas was incomplete without acknowledging the misery of Palestinians.

    Condemning Hamas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday extended India’s solidarity with Israel. “While we understand the PM standing up for Israel showing solidarity at this time of great grief and the horror that has been visited upon them, we feel that his statement was incomplete…

    It’s a difficult situation for the Palestinians, especially since settlement building, and construction of new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have been continuing unabated all these years,” Tharoor said, adding that the Congress is adhering to the position taken by India traditionally over the years.

    “We want both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and dignity behind secure borders and conditions where neither has to fear for their lives at any time… We want to see this matter halt and peace be restored,” Tharoor said, adding that the entire situation was provoked by the surprise attack by Hamas during the national holiday in Israel.

    “It was a terror operation. It really was impossible to accept any justification for what Hamas did. I certainly join in the condemnation of the act,” he said. The CWC resolution on Monday extending support to Palestine has been severely criticised by the BJP. Tharoor said it wasn’t a comprehensive view and the party will come out with an evolved one. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    NEW DELHI:  With the Congress under attack from the BJP for its support to the people of Palestine, MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas was incomplete without acknowledging the misery of Palestinians.

    Condemning Hamas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday extended India’s solidarity with Israel. “While we understand the PM standing up for Israel showing solidarity at this time of great grief and the horror that has been visited upon them, we feel that his statement was incomplete…

    It’s a difficult situation for the Palestinians, especially since settlement building, and construction of new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have been continuing unabated all these years,” Tharoor said, adding that the Congress is adhering to the position taken by India traditionally over the years.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “We want both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and dignity behind secure borders and conditions where neither has to fear for their lives at any time… We want to see this matter halt and peace be restored,” Tharoor said, adding that the entire situation was provoked by the surprise attack by Hamas during the national holiday in Israel.

    “It was a terror operation. It really was impossible to accept any justification for what Hamas did. I certainly join in the condemnation of the act,” he said. The CWC resolution on Monday extending support to Palestine has been severely criticised by the BJP. Tharoor said it wasn’t a comprehensive view and the party will come out with an evolved one. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Kharge reconstitutes CWC, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot included in new team

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday reconstituted the party’s top decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

    While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees, including presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students’ Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.

    Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik, who were part of the group of 23 leaders that had raised questions on the party’s leadership under Sonia Gandhi, are among the general members of the new CWC.

    Manish Tewari and Veerappa Moily, who were also part of the grouping, have been made permanent invitees.

    Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pratibha Singh have also been included in the important panel, according to a Congress statement.

    Sachin Pilot, who rebelled against the party’s government in Rajasthan and was later removed as deputy chief minister, is also among the new CWC members.

    The CWC was formed months after Kharge became the party president on October 10 last year and replaces the Steering Committee that was formed as a stop-gap arrangement.

    The general members of the CWC are Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Meira Kumar, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Lal Thanhawala, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Adhokrao Chavan, Ajay Maken, Charanjit Singh Channi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kumari Selja, the statement said.

    Gaikhangam, N Raghuveera Reddy, Shashi Tharoor, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh, Jitendra Singh, Randeep Surjewala, Sachin Pilot, Deepak Babaria, Jagdish Thakore, G S Mir, Avinash Pande, Deepa Das Munshi, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Gourav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Kamaleshwar Patel and K C Venugopal are also members.

    NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday reconstituted the party’s top decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

    While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees, including presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students’ Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.

    Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik, who were part of the group of 23 leaders that had raised questions on the party’s leadership under Sonia Gandhi, are among the general members of the new CWC.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Manish Tewari and Veerappa Moily, who were also part of the grouping, have been made permanent invitees.

    Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pratibha Singh have also been included in the important panel, according to a Congress statement.

    Sachin Pilot, who rebelled against the party’s government in Rajasthan and was later removed as deputy chief minister, is also among the new CWC members.

    The CWC was formed months after Kharge became the party president on October 10 last year and replaces the Steering Committee that was formed as a stop-gap arrangement.

    The general members of the CWC are Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Meira Kumar, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Lal Thanhawala, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Adhokrao Chavan, Ajay Maken, Charanjit Singh Channi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kumari Selja, the statement said.

    Gaikhangam, N Raghuveera Reddy, Shashi Tharoor, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh, Jitendra Singh, Randeep Surjewala, Sachin Pilot, Deepak Babaria, Jagdish Thakore, G S Mir, Avinash Pande, Deepa Das Munshi, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Gourav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Kamaleshwar Patel and K C Venugopal are also members.

  • ‘What a disgrace’: Tharoor on removal of Maulana Azad references from NCERT textbook

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday slammed the government over the removal of references to India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the new NCERT class 11 political science textbook, calling it a “disgrace”.

    References to freedom fighter and India’s first education minister Azad have been removed from the new class 11 political science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

    Tagging a media report on it, Tharoor, a former minister of state for human resource development, tweeted, “What a disgrace. I have no objection to adding neglected figures to the historical narrative, but deleting people, especially for the wrong reasons, is unworthy of our diverse democracy and its storied history.”

    As part of its “syllabus rationalisation” exercise last year, the NCERT, citing “overlapping” and “irrelevant” as reasons, dropped certain portions from the course including lessons on Gujarat riots, Mughal courts, Emergency, Cold War, Naxalite movement, among others from its textbooks.

    The rationalisation note had no mention of any changes in class 11 political science textbook.

    READ MORE | NCERT’s revision of textbooks part of ‘saffronisation’ agenda, says Kerala CM

    The NCERT has, however, claimed that no curriculum trimming has taken place this year and the syllabus was rationalised in June last year.

    “Certain changes not finding mention of in the rationalised content book could be an ‘oversight’,” NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani reiterated. In the class 11 political science textbook’s first chapter, titled ‘Constitution – Why and How’, a line has been revised to omit Azad’s name from the constituent assembly committee meetings. The revised line now reads, “Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel or BR Ambedkar chaired these Committees.”

    ALSO READ | Historians, political leaders call out NCERT’s move to remove references to Gandhi, RSS, Godse

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday slammed the government over the removal of references to India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the new NCERT class 11 political science textbook, calling it a “disgrace”.

    References to freedom fighter and India’s first education minister Azad have been removed from the new class 11 political science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

    Tagging a media report on it, Tharoor, a former minister of state for human resource development, tweeted, “What a disgrace. I have no objection to adding neglected figures to the historical narrative, but deleting people, especially for the wrong reasons, is unworthy of our diverse democracy and its storied history.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    As part of its “syllabus rationalisation” exercise last year, the NCERT, citing “overlapping” and “irrelevant” as reasons, dropped certain portions from the course including lessons on Gujarat riots, Mughal courts, Emergency, Cold War, Naxalite movement, among others from its textbooks.

    The rationalisation note had no mention of any changes in class 11 political science textbook.

    READ MORE | NCERT’s revision of textbooks part of ‘saffronisation’ agenda, says Kerala CM

    The NCERT has, however, claimed that no curriculum trimming has taken place this year and the syllabus was rationalised in June last year.

    “Certain changes not finding mention of in the rationalised content book could be an ‘oversight’,” NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani reiterated. In the class 11 political science textbook’s first chapter, titled ‘Constitution – Why and How’, a line has been revised to omit Azad’s name from the constituent assembly committee meetings. The revised line now reads, “Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel or BR Ambedkar chaired these Committees.”

    ALSO READ | Historians, political leaders call out NCERT’s move to remove references to Gandhi, RSS, Godse

  • Was govt ‘cow-ed’ by jokes or was it ‘cow-ardice’: Tharoor’s dig after ‘Cow Hug Day’ appeal withdrawal

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday took a swipe over the Animal Welfare Board of India withdrawing its appeal to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’, asking whether the government was “cow-ed” by the jokes made at its expense or was it merely “cow-ardice”.

    Tharoor’s dig came a day after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) said it has withdrawn the appeal to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’ following directions from the government amid widespread criticism on social media.

    Reacting to the development, Tharoor said on Twitter, “Was the Government cow-ed by the jokes made at its expense or was it merely cow-ardice?” “My guess is the original appeal was an oral instruction: ‘Valentine’s Day: let them hug their guy’ & the last word was misheard by a Hindu Rashtravadi as gaay!’,” the former Union minister said.

    The withdrawal of the appeal came just a day after Union minister Parshottam Rupala said it will be good if people respond positively to the call given by the board to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’.

    February 14 is observed as Valentine’s Day across the world.

    “As directed by the Competent Authority and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying the appeal issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India for celebration of Cow Hug Day on 14th February, 2023 stands withdrawn,” the board’s secretary S K Dutta said in a notice posted on its website.

    It was for the first time that the AWBI had appealed to cow lovers in the country to celebrate ‘Cow Hug Day’.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday took a swipe over the Animal Welfare Board of India withdrawing its appeal to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’, asking whether the government was “cow-ed” by the jokes made at its expense or was it merely “cow-ardice”.

    Tharoor’s dig came a day after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) said it has withdrawn the appeal to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’ following directions from the government amid widespread criticism on social media.

    Reacting to the development, Tharoor said on Twitter, “Was the Government cow-ed by the jokes made at its expense or was it merely cow-ardice?” “My guess is the original appeal was an oral instruction: ‘Valentine’s Day: let them hug their guy’ & the last word was misheard by a Hindu Rashtravadi as gaay!’,” the former Union minister said.

    The withdrawal of the appeal came just a day after Union minister Parshottam Rupala said it will be good if people respond positively to the call given by the board to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’.

    February 14 is observed as Valentine’s Day across the world.

    “As directed by the Competent Authority and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying the appeal issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India for celebration of Cow Hug Day on 14th February, 2023 stands withdrawn,” the board’s secretary S K Dutta said in a notice posted on its website.

    It was for the first time that the AWBI had appealed to cow lovers in the country to celebrate ‘Cow Hug Day’.

  • Dr Ambedkar was India’s ‘first male feminist’, says Tharoor

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Dr B R Ambedkar was India’s first male feminist, who propagated such ideas decades back that could be considered as progressive even for the current generation of politicians, Congress leader and writer Shashi Tharoor said here on Saturday.

    He was speaking during an interaction programme at the ongoing Goa Heritage Festival.

    “He (Ambedkar) was probably India’s first male feminist. Way back in 1920, 30s, 40s he made speeches, including in front of a female audience, which today would be considered as progressive for a male politician,” the Congress MP said while speaking about his latest book “Ambedkar: A Life”.

    “He (Ambedkar) urged women not to allow themselves to be forced into marriage. He urged women to delay marriage, delay childbirth. He urged them to stand up to their husbands as equals,” The Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

    Ambedkar as a legislator fought for women workers and labourers, he said, adding, “It was a remarkable feminist thinking of this man 80-90 years ago.”

    “There is a tendency to see Ambedkar as a Dalit leader. He was the principal Dalit leader of the country. From his early 20s, he was an influential voice and became more and more influential,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Shashi Tharoor’s Malabar tour catches Congress leaders off guard

    Ambedkar was an extraordinary constitutionalist, being the chairman of the drafting committee.

    It was he who presented and defended every single one of the provisions of the Constitution, Tharoor said.

    Responding to a question on India’s image globally, Tharoor said that in 1975, the country’s image in America was awful.

    “It was considered a poor country and people’s idea about India was about fakirs sleeping on nail-bed or snake-charmers doing road tricks. From there, the transformation has been astonishing. By the turn of the millennium, you have Indian software revolution and suddenly started imagining Indians as computer gigs,” he said.

    Tharoor said that the ‘Y2K’ phenomenon was a turning point for the Indian computer professionals.

    ALSO READ | Ambedkar temple opened in Andhra’s Srikakulam 

    “There was a fear that all the computers would crash. Suddenly we had a demand for Indians doing codes to overcome that problem and that’s when India’s software revolution really took off,” he said.

    According to him, the other thing that happened in the western world was the consciousness of Indian expatriates as not just computer people, but engineers and doctors.

    “Indians, from being beggars and snake-charmers, were now software engineers,” he said.

    PANAJI: Dr B R Ambedkar was India’s first male feminist, who propagated such ideas decades back that could be considered as progressive even for the current generation of politicians, Congress leader and writer Shashi Tharoor said here on Saturday.

    He was speaking during an interaction programme at the ongoing Goa Heritage Festival.

    “He (Ambedkar) was probably India’s first male feminist. Way back in 1920, 30s, 40s he made speeches, including in front of a female audience, which today would be considered as progressive for a male politician,” the Congress MP said while speaking about his latest book “Ambedkar: A Life”.

    “He (Ambedkar) urged women not to allow themselves to be forced into marriage. He urged women to delay marriage, delay childbirth. He urged them to stand up to their husbands as equals,” The Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

    Ambedkar as a legislator fought for women workers and labourers, he said, adding, “It was a remarkable feminist thinking of this man 80-90 years ago.”

    “There is a tendency to see Ambedkar as a Dalit leader. He was the principal Dalit leader of the country. From his early 20s, he was an influential voice and became more and more influential,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Shashi Tharoor’s Malabar tour catches Congress leaders off guard

    Ambedkar was an extraordinary constitutionalist, being the chairman of the drafting committee.

    It was he who presented and defended every single one of the provisions of the Constitution, Tharoor said.

    Responding to a question on India’s image globally, Tharoor said that in 1975, the country’s image in America was awful.

    “It was considered a poor country and people’s idea about India was about fakirs sleeping on nail-bed or snake-charmers doing road tricks. From there, the transformation has been astonishing. By the turn of the millennium, you have Indian software revolution and suddenly started imagining Indians as computer gigs,” he said.

    Tharoor said that the ‘Y2K’ phenomenon was a turning point for the Indian computer professionals.

    ALSO READ | Ambedkar temple opened in Andhra’s Srikakulam 

    “There was a fear that all the computers would crash. Suddenly we had a demand for Indians doing codes to overcome that problem and that’s when India’s software revolution really took off,” he said.

    According to him, the other thing that happened in the western world was the consciousness of Indian expatriates as not just computer people, but engineers and doctors.

    “Indians, from being beggars and snake-charmers, were now software engineers,” he said.

  • ‘Sick minds’: Tharoor slams trolls over comments on picture with woman 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday lashed out at trolls who took swipes over a photograph of him with a woman at an event, saying they should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse.

    His comments came over a tweet by a woman who took down her pictures with Tharoor after the trolling.

    “It breaks my heart how the RW right-wing people are using my pictures with Tharoor sir in the wrong context and spreading misinformation for the sake of political gains,” she said. The post went on to say she met him at a literature festival to which she had been invited.

    Trolls should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse. This young girl has suffered for an innocent picture taken at a reception for over a hundred people, at which I must have posed for photos with over fifty! Keep your sick minds to yourselves, trolls! https://t.co/0C4tHata9z
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 16, 2022
    “Like any other person, clicked a few pictures too for the great author he’s. There are no political or personal stories related to it. I have always looked up to him,” she added.

    Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram and a prolific author, tagged her tweet in his response.

    “Trolls should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse. This young girl has suffered for an innocent picture taken at a reception for over a hundred people, at which I must have posed for photos with over fifty! Keep your sick minds to yourselves, trolls!” he said.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday lashed out at trolls who took swipes over a photograph of him with a woman at an event, saying they should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse.

    His comments came over a tweet by a woman who took down her pictures with Tharoor after the trolling.

    “It breaks my heart how the RW right-wing people are using my pictures with Tharoor sir in the wrong context and spreading misinformation for the sake of political gains,” she said. The post went on to say she met him at a literature festival to which she had been invited.

    Trolls should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse. This young girl has suffered for an innocent picture taken at a reception for over a hundred people, at which I must have posed for photos with over fifty! Keep your sick minds to yourselves, trolls! https://t.co/0C4tHata9z
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 16, 2022
    “Like any other person, clicked a few pictures too for the great author he’s. There are no political or personal stories related to it. I have always looked up to him,” she added.

    Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram and a prolific author, tagged her tweet in his response.

    “Trolls should realise there are real human beings involved in their abuse. This young girl has suffered for an innocent picture taken at a reception for over a hundred people, at which I must have posed for photos with over fifty! Keep your sick minds to yourselves, trolls!” he said.

  • Pledged my full support, cooperation to Kharge in taking Congress forward: Tharoor

    Tharoor congratulated Kharge on his official assumption of the duties of the Congress president, and wished him success.

  • Congress rebuffs remarks of Chidambaram, Tharoor on Sunak elevation 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Tuesday said India does not need to draw lessons from any other country as many minorities have become the president and chief minister in the past, a remark seen as a rebuff to party leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor who hoped India will follow Rishi Sunak’s example of electing a person from minorities to the top post.

    AICC general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh said respecting diversity has been India’s hallmark for many years and cited the examples of Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and A P J Abdul Kalam who held the top constitutional position in the country for many years.

    After Indian-origin Sunak was picked as the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, Chidambaram and Tharoor had said that “India should draw lessons from the UK” and hoped one day this practice would be adopted in the country.

    “In our country, Dr Zakir Hussain first became the President in 1967, then Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the President and Dr Abdul Kalam and if I keep giving you examples, Barkatullah Khan became chief minister and A R Antulay also became the chief minister,” Ramesh told reporters.

    Asked about the Congress leaders’ remarks, he added, “You should ask them. I am only talking about Bharat Jodo Yatra and I would not speak about what other leaders have said. You should ask them on what they have said, I will not speak on any other leader’s remarks.”

    “The Congress is a democratic party,” the Congress leader said, adding the Bharat Jodo Yatra is “blowing the trumpet of democracy” while the Bharatiya Janata Party is “blowing the guns of autocracy.”

    “Those who get a mandate will become prime minister. Democratically, if someone is elected, we don’t have a problem. England’s party has made him the prime minister, we welcome it,” said Ramesh.READ | Rishi Sunak’s rise to PM is ‘Obama moment for British Hindus’, says UK Hindu temple leader 

    He said India has set an example across the world on celebrating diversity and respecting them.

    “But, in the last eight years what we have seen, I don’t think we need to draw lessons from somewhere else. Our society is united in diversity and we have seen for many years that we respect diversity and give them equal rights and we don’t need to seek lessons from any other country. Our society will be strengthened through diversity,” he noted.

    The Congress general secretary said if we suppress diversity and try to bring uniformity, we will not be able to strengthen our society. “Our strength is unity in diversity. I will go a step further, as we will remain united through diversity. Bharat Jodo Yatra’s purpose is this only, to unite the diversity of different languages, castes and religions.”

    Ramesh said in Karnataka they met some people a few days ago who speak a language which does not have a script. “We need to strengthen them as they are also Indian citizens.”

    Asked specifically about his mention of the last years of Modi’s rule, he said, that is because there is a huge difference between the thoughts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

    “Vajpayee was a product of the Nehru era and he was very impressed by Jawaharlal Nehru and that is the truth. But, Narendra Modi is busy only with one thing – how to erase the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru and how to finish Teen Murti. Now there will be Teen Murti in 10, Downing Street also,” Ramesh said.

    Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor welcomed the election of Sunak and hoped one day this practice is adopted in the country.

    First Kamala Harris, now Rishi SunakThe people of the U.S. and the U.K have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in governmentI think there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism
    — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 24, 2022

    If this does happen, I think all of us will have to acknowledge that theBrits have done something very rare in the world,to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office. As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let’s honestly ask: can it happen here? https://t.co/UrDg1Nngfv
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 24, 2022
    Sunak will make history as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party on Diwali as Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race.

    This means the 42-year-old former chancellor, a devout Hindu, is poised to walk through the door of 10 Downing Street in London after an audience with King Charles III in Buckingham Palace. Besides being the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage, Sunak is also the youngest in around 200 years at 42 years.

    READ | ‘We are proud of him,’ says Narayana Murthy on son-in-law becoming UK PM

    NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Tuesday said India does not need to draw lessons from any other country as many minorities have become the president and chief minister in the past, a remark seen as a rebuff to party leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor who hoped India will follow Rishi Sunak’s example of electing a person from minorities to the top post.

    AICC general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh said respecting diversity has been India’s hallmark for many years and cited the examples of Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and A P J Abdul Kalam who held the top constitutional position in the country for many years.

    After Indian-origin Sunak was picked as the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, Chidambaram and Tharoor had said that “India should draw lessons from the UK” and hoped one day this practice would be adopted in the country.

    “In our country, Dr Zakir Hussain first became the President in 1967, then Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the President and Dr Abdul Kalam and if I keep giving you examples, Barkatullah Khan became chief minister and A R Antulay also became the chief minister,” Ramesh told reporters.

    Asked about the Congress leaders’ remarks, he added, “You should ask them. I am only talking about Bharat Jodo Yatra and I would not speak about what other leaders have said. You should ask them on what they have said, I will not speak on any other leader’s remarks.”

    “The Congress is a democratic party,” the Congress leader said, adding the Bharat Jodo Yatra is “blowing the trumpet of democracy” while the Bharatiya Janata Party is “blowing the guns of autocracy.”

    “Those who get a mandate will become prime minister. Democratically, if someone is elected, we don’t have a problem. England’s party has made him the prime minister, we welcome it,” said Ramesh.READ | Rishi Sunak’s rise to PM is ‘Obama moment for British Hindus’, says UK Hindu temple leader 

    He said India has set an example across the world on celebrating diversity and respecting them.

    “But, in the last eight years what we have seen, I don’t think we need to draw lessons from somewhere else. Our society is united in diversity and we have seen for many years that we respect diversity and give them equal rights and we don’t need to seek lessons from any other country. Our society will be strengthened through diversity,” he noted.

    The Congress general secretary said if we suppress diversity and try to bring uniformity, we will not be able to strengthen our society. “Our strength is unity in diversity. I will go a step further, as we will remain united through diversity. Bharat Jodo Yatra’s purpose is this only, to unite the diversity of different languages, castes and religions.”

    Ramesh said in Karnataka they met some people a few days ago who speak a language which does not have a script. “We need to strengthen them as they are also Indian citizens.”

    Asked specifically about his mention of the last years of Modi’s rule, he said, that is because there is a huge difference between the thoughts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

    “Vajpayee was a product of the Nehru era and he was very impressed by Jawaharlal Nehru and that is the truth. But, Narendra Modi is busy only with one thing – how to erase the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru and how to finish Teen Murti. Now there will be Teen Murti in 10, Downing Street also,” Ramesh said.

    Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor welcomed the election of Sunak and hoped one day this practice is adopted in the country.

    First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak
    The people of the U.S. and the U.K have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government
    I think there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism
    — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 24, 2022

    If this does happen, I think all of us will have to acknowledge that theBrits have done something very rare in the world,to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office. As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let’s honestly ask: can it happen here? https://t.co/UrDg1Nngfv
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 24, 2022
    Sunak will make history as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party on Diwali as Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race.

    This means the 42-year-old former chancellor, a devout Hindu, is poised to walk through the door of 10 Downing Street in London after an audience with King Charles III in Buckingham Palace. Besides being the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage, Sunak is also the youngest in around 200 years at 42 years.

    READ | ‘We are proud of him,’ says Narayana Murthy on son-in-law becoming UK PM

  • Not disappointed, election has galvanised Congress workers: Tharoor on losing party prez polls 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost the party’s presidential poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said he talked about the election’s outcome with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and she stated that it was not surprising that “people would back one of their own”.

    In the poll, winning candidate Kharge was backed by several senior leaders while Tharoor had pitched himself as the candidate of change, largely supported by lesser-known party workers.

    Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai’s biography, Tharoor also said he was not disappointed about the result as the poll had galvanised party workers.

    Mohsina Kidwai’s biography has been written by her along with senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai.

    Asked if he was disappointed and disheartened with the result, Tharoor, said, “No, I am not disappointed because I think it was very clear from the earliest moments of the campaign that the establishment, minus the rare case of a Mohsina Kidwai or a Saifuddin Soz or a few other fellow MPs, was going to rally behind him (Kharge) and that inevitably happened and I have no complaints about that.”

    ALSO READ | ‘One face for me, another for media’: Mistry slams Tharoor over ‘poll irregularities’ charge

    “In fact, Sonia Ji and I were talking today about the election and she was saying, it’s not surprising that people would sort of back one of their own and I said ‘absolutely, I wasn’t surprised,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    After the event, he said that he had met Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor said he was gratified by the extent to which the entire election process galvanised people on both sides and party workers.

    “I have now made new relationships with our party workers all over the country that I would never have had a chance without this election,” he said.

    “I feel that many of them have touched me and I have touched them in ways that I believe would have a lasting value in our respective political innings in the party.

    So, I was very pleased about all of that and I believe there is a lot to be learnt in the positive sense from having an exercise like this,” the Congress leader said.

    Tharoor also said he was quite amused to see the ruling BJP’s spokespeople attacking the Congress for his mistreatment to which he had responded that “we can fight our own internal battles but try holding your own election first before you comment on ours”.

    At the book launch, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah called for Opposition unity to take on the present dispensation.

    He urged Tharoor to keep strengthening the Congress and keep standing by the party and its leader.

    Abdullah also said though he and his father Sheikh Abdullah had suffered at the hands of the Congress, he believes the party can help save the country.

    In his remarks, Mani Shankar Aiyar said he would have been a proposer for Tharoor’s candidature for Congress presidential polls but the Kerala MP told him his name was not on the voters’ list.

    After asking around, Aiyar finally found his name on the list.

    Aiyar said Tharoor fought the polls well and noted that he made it clear during the campaign that it was a friendly fight and not a contest against rivals.

    Aiyar said Tharoor was a champion of change while Kharge was a champion of continuity and if both views meet going forward, the party was a winner in the polls.

    Besides Kidwai, Tharoor, Abdullah and Aiyar, senior Congress leaders and former Union ministers Shivraj Patil and Sushilkumar Shinde were present at the book launch.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost the party’s presidential poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said he talked about the election’s outcome with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and she stated that it was not surprising that “people would back one of their own”.

    In the poll, winning candidate Kharge was backed by several senior leaders while Tharoor had pitched himself as the candidate of change, largely supported by lesser-known party workers.

    Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai’s biography, Tharoor also said he was not disappointed about the result as the poll had galvanised party workers.

    Mohsina Kidwai’s biography has been written by her along with senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai.

    Asked if he was disappointed and disheartened with the result, Tharoor, said, “No, I am not disappointed because I think it was very clear from the earliest moments of the campaign that the establishment, minus the rare case of a Mohsina Kidwai or a Saifuddin Soz or a few other fellow MPs, was going to rally behind him (Kharge) and that inevitably happened and I have no complaints about that.”

    ALSO READ | ‘One face for me, another for media’: Mistry slams Tharoor over ‘poll irregularities’ charge

    “In fact, Sonia Ji and I were talking today about the election and she was saying, it’s not surprising that people would sort of back one of their own and I said ‘absolutely, I wasn’t surprised,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    After the event, he said that he had met Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor said he was gratified by the extent to which the entire election process galvanised people on both sides and party workers.

    “I have now made new relationships with our party workers all over the country that I would never have had a chance without this election,” he said.

    “I feel that many of them have touched me and I have touched them in ways that I believe would have a lasting value in our respective political innings in the party.

    So, I was very pleased about all of that and I believe there is a lot to be learnt in the positive sense from having an exercise like this,” the Congress leader said.

    Tharoor also said he was quite amused to see the ruling BJP’s spokespeople attacking the Congress for his mistreatment to which he had responded that “we can fight our own internal battles but try holding your own election first before you comment on ours”.

    At the book launch, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah called for Opposition unity to take on the present dispensation.

    He urged Tharoor to keep strengthening the Congress and keep standing by the party and its leader.

    Abdullah also said though he and his father Sheikh Abdullah had suffered at the hands of the Congress, he believes the party can help save the country.

    In his remarks, Mani Shankar Aiyar said he would have been a proposer for Tharoor’s candidature for Congress presidential polls but the Kerala MP told him his name was not on the voters’ list.

    After asking around, Aiyar finally found his name on the list.

    Aiyar said Tharoor fought the polls well and noted that he made it clear during the campaign that it was a friendly fight and not a contest against rivals.

    Aiyar said Tharoor was a champion of change while Kharge was a champion of continuity and if both views meet going forward, the party was a winner in the polls.

    Besides Kidwai, Tharoor, Abdullah and Aiyar, senior Congress leaders and former Union ministers Shivraj Patil and Sushilkumar Shinde were present at the book launch.

  • Tough road ahead for Mallikarjun Kharge as challenges galore for Congress

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Tough tests await newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s first non-Gandhi chief in more than 24 years, as he steers the ‘grand old party’ through the many challenges on the road to the 2024 general elections.

    The situation in which he takes over is a tough one for the Congress with the party’s chances in the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections not looking very bright, infighting simmering in states such as Rajasthan and Karnataka, and hurdles in abundance for Opposition unity in the run-up to 2024.

    Kharge has many things favouring him as he assumes the party’s top spot after a high-octane election, defeating a worthy opponent in Shashi Tharoor.

    He is known to be a unifier who takes everyone along.

    A Dalit from Karnataka, 80-year-old Kharge trounced his 66-year-old rival Tharoor in a historic election, the sixth in the party’s 137-year-old history.

    He will formally take over on October 26.

    His elevation to the party’s top post comes when the Congress is in power in just two states on its own – Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh – and faces a very aggressive incumbent BJP in election-bound Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat a few weeks from now.

    This will be Kharge’s first challenge.

    Later in 2023, the Congress president will face the onerous task of leading the party in nine assembly elections, including in his home state Karnataka.

    Kharge’s election also comes at a time when the party is reeling under internal rumblings and high-profile exits after a series of electoral debacles that have reduced it to a shadow of its former formidable self.

    He will have to fend off BJP’s allegations of being a front for the Gandhis and remote-controlled by them.

    Kharge also faces the challenge of a generational divide in the party and has to maintain a balance between experience and the youth going forward.

    Political commentator Rasheed Kidwai said there are several challenges before Kharge as he has to coordinate with Team Rahul Gandhi, which occupies key posts and positions in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and in most states.

    The next challenge is constituting the CWC, in which most of the G-23 protagonists who supported him hope to get accommodated, Kidwai told PTI.

    READ HERE | Congress making Dalits ‘scapegoats’: Mayawati on Kharge as party president

    Kharge also faces the immediate challenge of the Rajasthan political crisis as he needs to “tame a defiant Ashok Gehlot and get a role for Sachin Pilot”, said Kidwai, the author of several books, including ’24 Akbar Road: A Short History Of The People Behind The Fall And Rise Of The Congress’.

    He also has to firm up a broad alliance for the 2024 general elections with TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s MK Stalin, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, and TRS’ K Chandrashekar Rao among others, Kidwai said.

    Echoing similar views, political commentator Sanjay Kumar said there are a lot of challenges for the party, and unfortunately, Kharge’s ability to lead would be tested on the parameter of electoral success of the Congress.

    “Unfortunately, the Congress does not seem to be in a very good position when it comes to facing the BJP in states like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and next year’s assembly polls starting with Karnataka. The party does not seem to be in a favourable situation in these states,” Kumar told PTI.

    A lot of criticism may start coming his way early on with critics arguing that the leadership change has not done much for the party, said Kumar, co-director of Lokniti, a research programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

    He said it remains to be seen if the “puppet” tag that many critics have labelled on Kharge sticks or not depending on whether he takes decisions independently or “rushes to 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi’s residence) and Rahul Gandhi” for advice.

    Kumar also said infighting has been a challenge for Congress and recent developments in Rajasthan proved that, so if the Gandhi family has had a problem dealing with it, Kharge will have more problems.

    “I also visualise maybe a vertical split within the party between Gandhi family loyalists and those who start looking forward to Kharge as the party president taking independent decisions,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Kharge will have say in Karnataka elections ticket distribution: DKS

    Manindra Nath Thakur, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Political Studies, said Kharge and the Congress face three main challenges – reconstituting support base in the Hindi heartland, a new socio-economic-political idea to which people can be attracted, and revamping the organisational structure.

    “Earlier presidents had legitimacy, Kharge will have to gain that legitimacy. He is not the natural choice of everyone in the party and therefore, he has to work hard for that,” Thakur told PTI.

    The road ahead is certainly tough for Kharge, but many in the party believe he is the right man for the job as he has a lot of experience, takes everyone along and understands the Congress’ organisational functioning inside out.

    Whether he can successfully steer the party across the obstacles that await it on the road to 2024, only time will tell.

    NEW DELHI: Tough tests await newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s first non-Gandhi chief in more than 24 years, as he steers the ‘grand old party’ through the many challenges on the road to the 2024 general elections.

    The situation in which he takes over is a tough one for the Congress with the party’s chances in the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections not looking very bright, infighting simmering in states such as Rajasthan and Karnataka, and hurdles in abundance for Opposition unity in the run-up to 2024.

    Kharge has many things favouring him as he assumes the party’s top spot after a high-octane election, defeating a worthy opponent in Shashi Tharoor.

    He is known to be a unifier who takes everyone along.

    A Dalit from Karnataka, 80-year-old Kharge trounced his 66-year-old rival Tharoor in a historic election, the sixth in the party’s 137-year-old history.

    He will formally take over on October 26.

    His elevation to the party’s top post comes when the Congress is in power in just two states on its own – Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh – and faces a very aggressive incumbent BJP in election-bound Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat a few weeks from now.

    This will be Kharge’s first challenge.

    Later in 2023, the Congress president will face the onerous task of leading the party in nine assembly elections, including in his home state Karnataka.

    Kharge’s election also comes at a time when the party is reeling under internal rumblings and high-profile exits after a series of electoral debacles that have reduced it to a shadow of its former formidable self.

    He will have to fend off BJP’s allegations of being a front for the Gandhis and remote-controlled by them.

    Kharge also faces the challenge of a generational divide in the party and has to maintain a balance between experience and the youth going forward.

    Political commentator Rasheed Kidwai said there are several challenges before Kharge as he has to coordinate with Team Rahul Gandhi, which occupies key posts and positions in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and in most states.

    The next challenge is constituting the CWC, in which most of the G-23 protagonists who supported him hope to get accommodated, Kidwai told PTI.

    READ HERE | Congress making Dalits ‘scapegoats’: Mayawati on Kharge as party president

    Kharge also faces the immediate challenge of the Rajasthan political crisis as he needs to “tame a defiant Ashok Gehlot and get a role for Sachin Pilot”, said Kidwai, the author of several books, including ’24 Akbar Road: A Short History Of The People Behind The Fall And Rise Of The Congress’.

    He also has to firm up a broad alliance for the 2024 general elections with TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s MK Stalin, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, and TRS’ K Chandrashekar Rao among others, Kidwai said.

    Echoing similar views, political commentator Sanjay Kumar said there are a lot of challenges for the party, and unfortunately, Kharge’s ability to lead would be tested on the parameter of electoral success of the Congress.

    “Unfortunately, the Congress does not seem to be in a very good position when it comes to facing the BJP in states like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and next year’s assembly polls starting with Karnataka. The party does not seem to be in a favourable situation in these states,” Kumar told PTI.

    A lot of criticism may start coming his way early on with critics arguing that the leadership change has not done much for the party, said Kumar, co-director of Lokniti, a research programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

    He said it remains to be seen if the “puppet” tag that many critics have labelled on Kharge sticks or not depending on whether he takes decisions independently or “rushes to 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi’s residence) and Rahul Gandhi” for advice.

    Kumar also said infighting has been a challenge for Congress and recent developments in Rajasthan proved that, so if the Gandhi family has had a problem dealing with it, Kharge will have more problems.

    “I also visualise maybe a vertical split within the party between Gandhi family loyalists and those who start looking forward to Kharge as the party president taking independent decisions,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Kharge will have say in Karnataka elections ticket distribution: DKS

    Manindra Nath Thakur, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Political Studies, said Kharge and the Congress face three main challenges – reconstituting support base in the Hindi heartland, a new socio-economic-political idea to which people can be attracted, and revamping the organisational structure.

    “Earlier presidents had legitimacy, Kharge will have to gain that legitimacy. He is not the natural choice of everyone in the party and therefore, he has to work hard for that,” Thakur told PTI.

    The road ahead is certainly tough for Kharge, but many in the party believe he is the right man for the job as he has a lot of experience, takes everyone along and understands the Congress’ organisational functioning inside out.

    Whether he can successfully steer the party across the obstacles that await it on the road to 2024, only time will tell.