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Tag: Shashi Tharoor

  • May he work more successfully to ensure ‘vikas’ actually dawns in country: Shashi Tharoor on PM Narendra Modi’s birthday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday wished a happy birthday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also took a swipe at him saying, may he be able to work more successfully in the next two years to ensure that ‘vikas’ actually dawns in the country.

    Tharoor’s remarks came as the Congress said that the day is being observed as “unemployment day”, “anti-farmer day” and “high prices day”.

    “Wishing @NarendraModi ji happy birthday & many healthy years in the service of the nation. May he be able to work more successfully in the next two, to ensure that Vikas actually dawns in our country and is truly ‘sab ka’ & ‘sab ka saath’!” Tharoor tweeted.

    “May he create work for the Indian people too,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

    In another tweet, Tharoor said more than 10,60,139 posts of teachers and 1,07,000 posts in the Indian Army are vacant, but unemployment is at the highest level ever recorded.

    “Let’s hold this callous & inept government accountable for its unsympathetic deeds!” Tharoor said using the hashtag ‘NationalUnemploymentDay’.

    His All India India Professional Congress colleague Salman Anees Soz also had a birthday wish for Modi that came with a sharp dig.

    “On his birthday, I wish PM @narendramodi all the best in finding a way out of the multiple crises that have resulted from his politics & governance,” Soz said.

    “He (Modi) must pay attention to high youth unemployment. He was employed so that National Unemployment Day wouldn’t trend on his birthday,” the Congress leader said.

    Prime Minister Modi turned 71 on Friday and birthday greetings poured in from President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and various leaders across parties while BJP leaders hailed his leadership.

  • Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi turn interviewers for Sansad TV with individual shows

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: They are articulate, erudite and much sought after for their opinions by the media and also others. Now, Opposition MPs Shashi Tharoor and Priyanka Chaturvedi are moving to the other side of the mic as hosts for their own shows on the newly launched Sansad TV.

    Politics in all likelihood will be off the table when Congress’ Tharoor hosts “To The Point” and Shiv Sena’s Chaturvedi anchors “Meri Kahani”, both posing questions instead of answering them. While Tharoor’s show will be about candid conversations with eminent personalities, Chaturvedi’s programme will have women MPs share their journeys.

    “I have interviewed actor Michael Douglas and a couple of others for United Nations Television, so I cannot claim to be totally inexperienced as an anchor, but it’s a refreshing change to find myself asking the questions rather than answering them!” Tharoor told PTI.

    “It is an interesting space to be in as you control the narrative. You can ask the questions you want to from the guests,” Chaturvedi added. Other star hosts on the channel that seeks to break stereotypes include economist Bibek Debroy, the government’s principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched Sansad TV, created by merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV, jointly with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The decision to merge Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV was taken in February, and the CEO of Sansad TV appointed in March.

    The new channel and its programmes have piqued the curiosity of viewers and the spotlight for the moment is on the two MPs known for speaking their mind, to the media and on social media platforms.

    According to officials, sarod player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will be among the guests on Tharoor’s show, while Chaturvedi’s show is set to have Indian classical dancer and MP Sonal Mansingh as a guest.

    Tharoor, Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram and chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on information technology, said “‘To The Point’ was conceived as a show that will go “in depth into the life and work of the subject in a non-confrontational, easy-flowing conversational style”.

    Asked about the role reversal, the former UN under secretary general known for his candidness as an interviewee, said the guests are chosen by Sansad TV producers and they have made it clear they wish to avoid political controversy. “However, once the guests are chosen I have a free hand in conducting the conversation as I see fit,” Tharoor said.

    Elaborating on the specifics, he said, “Once we have a half-dozen shows ‘in the can’ and are ready to unveil them to the world at large, the audience will get to see how well it works — and then we might be able to widen the range of interviewees!” Chaturvedi said her programme focuses on talking to other women MPs about their journey to Parliament, where they began and how they manage to give time to their families as well as their parliamentary work.

    Asked how difficult it would be to steer clear of politics, she said maybe not too much. “As one woman speaking to another woman, we understand the challenges, the difficulties, the barriers and how they managed families with work etc. We are not talking about political parties, we are talking about them,” the Shiv Sena MP added.

    She admitted that it was a bit difficult to move to the other side of the mic. “Especially allowing them to do make-up, because that was not something I was personally keen on being a participant to, but I have a hard taskmaster in the producer of the show who tells me what to do in terms of look etc,” she said.

    Chaturvedi said she asked Sonal Mansingh about her life as a dancer and challenges she faces in one of the episodes. Also gracing the channel would be former MP and senior Congress leader Karan Singh who will host a show on different religions.

    The line up of other shows has also given an indication that this will be a completely different set up from Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV and it seeks to break the stereotype by getting MPs involved in programming.

    The actor tweeted that a full documentary on actor-turned-politician Hema Malini’s constituency of Mathura and her involvement as an MP would also be broadcast on Sansad TV. It is not just MPs who will be donning new roles on Sansad TV.

    Top officials will do so too. Kant, the CEO of the government’s public policy think-tank NITI Aayog, will be seen talking about “India’s growth story” on the show “Transforming India”, and Sanyal turns ‘sutradhar’ for the show “Economic Sutra”, which will explain government policies and economic strategies.

    According to the PMO, Sansad TV programming will primarily be in four categories — functioning of Parliament and democratic institutions, governance and implementation of schemes, policies, history and culture of India, and issues, interests, concerns of contemporary nature.

    Retired IAS officer and former Textile Ministry secretary Ravi Capoor is CEO of the channel while the Joint Secretary in Lok Sabha Secretariat Manoj Arora is the OSD.

    Launching the channel, Modi on Wednesday said Parliament is not only about politics but policy too and noted that content is about “connect” that is as much applicable to the parliamentary system as to the media.

    He said it is very important that the common man connects with Parliament and feels he is part of it. The new channel adds another important chapter in the country’s parliamentary system, Modi said.

  • No special allegation, insufficient material against Tharoor, says court discharging him in wife’s death case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In the absence of specific allegations and sufficient material, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor could not be compelled to face the rigmaroles of a criminal trial, a Delhi court said while discharging him in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death.

    There was nothing to demonstrate prima facie that the accused had subjected the deceased to physical cruelty, Special Judge Geetanjali Goel said.

    These observations were made by her in the detailed court order, which passed on Wednesday.

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

    “In the present case, it cannot be said that the accused had ever intended or acted in such a manner which under normal circumstances would drive the deceased to commit suicide,” the judge said in the detailed order made available later.

    The judge also noted that there was no allegation of any demand of dowry and harassment by the accused and there was also nothing, even prima facie, to show that he had subjected the deceased to physical cruelty.

    She stated that even if the case of the prosecution is taken on its face value that the accused had an affair with Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani journalist, and the deceased was “distressed, agitated, upset and mentally disturbed, in the absence of anything further”, it cannot be said that the same would amount to mental cruelty.

    “Even for instigation, the intention to provoke, incite, urge or encourage doing of an act is an essential factor but the record does not bear out any such intention on the part of the accused,” she said.

    The court rejected the argument of the prosecution that Tharoor had continued the affair with Trar despite his assurance to the contrary and this showed willful misrepresentation and instigation by misrepresentation.

    “Even as per the case of the prosecution, the accused took steps to hide his alleged affair with MT. There is nothing on record to show that the accused did some act in order to irritate or annoy the deceased until she reacted, or strongly persuaded or advised the deceased to do some act with the intention to provoke, incite, urge or encourage the latter to commit suicide,” it observed.

    The court said the deceased might have felt distressed or mentally disturbed with the alleged extra marital relation of the accused but mental disturbance does not constitute the offence of abetment.

    “No doubt a precious life was lost. But in the absence of specific allegations and sufficient material to make out the ingredients of the various offences, and on the basis of which the court could, at this stage presume that the accused had committed the offence, the accused cannot be compelled to face the rigmaroles of a criminal trial,” the judge said.

    She said that in view of the arguments in the case, the uncontroverted allegations made as well as the material collected during the investigation, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, do not prima facie disclose the commission of offences punishable under Sections 498-A or 306 of IPC against the accused.

    Tharoor was charged under Sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code by Delhi police, but was not arrested in the case.

    “The accused Shashi Tharoor is discharged for the offences under Sections 498-A and 306 IPC,” the judge said.

    While rejecting prosecution’s request to frame the charge of murder (section 302 of IPC), even though it was not alleged in the charge sheet filed by the Delhi police, the judge said: “It cannot be said that suspicion, much less grave suspicion exists in the present case to charge the accused for the offence under section 302 IPC.”

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

    Tharoor was granted anticipatory bail in the matter by a Sessions court on July 5, 2018.

    Following that order, a magisterial court converted the anticipatory bail into regular bail after he appeared before it on July 7 in pursuance to the summons issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate in the matter.

  • Court discharges Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday discharged senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel here. Special Judge Geetanjali Goel pronounced the order in a virtual hearing.

    The detailed order is awaited. After the order was pronounced, Tharoor, who had joined the proceedings, thanked the judge and said “it was an absolute torture for last seven-and-a-half year” and that the order was “a great relief”.

    Later he released a statement, saying that the justice has been done, which will allow everyone in the family to mourn Sunanda in peace. “In our justice system, the process is all too often the punishment. Nevertheless, the fact that justice has been done, at last, will allow all of us in the family to mourn Sunanda in peace,” Tharoor said in the statement released on Twitter.

    “This brings a significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife #Sunanda:” Read Congress leader #ShashiTharoor’s full statement here. pic.twitter.com/bMosatosIb
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) August 18, 2021
    He said that Wednesday’s order brings a significant conclusion to the “long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda”. “I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained by my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated,” the former Union minister said.

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

    Pahwa had sought Tharoor’s discharge in the case, saying there was no evidence against him to prove the offence. He had earlier told the court that the family and friends of Pushkar have maintained that she couldn’t have died by suicide, and there cannot be abetment charge on this ground.

    The maximum punishment for the offence is 10 years of imprisonment. Pahwa had earlier claimed that post mortem and other medical reports established that it was neither a suicide nor homicide. After the pronouncement of the order, Pahwa said that the charges levelled by the police for abetment to suicide and cruelty were absurd and preposterous.

    He said that even the most essential ingredients of the offences were not present in this case.

    All the reports of various medical boards including Psychological Autopsy Reports exonerated Tharoor from the charges of homicide or suicide, he said, adding that the charge sheet was filed without any basis.

    Advocate Gaurav Gupta, also representing Tharoor, pointed out that there was no complaint by anyone for harassment or abetment to suicide by any of the family members or friends of Sunanda Pushkar. “I am happy that at last after seven years Justice has prevailed and he has been honourably discharged from all the charges made by Delhi Police against him,” Pahwa said.

    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 (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) as well as 306 of the Indian Penal Code by Delhi Police, but was not arrested in the case.

    Tharoor was granted anticipatory bail in the matter by a Sessions court on July 5, 2018.

    Following that order, a magisterial court converted the anticipatory bail into regular bail after he appeared before it on July 7 in pursuance to the summons issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate in the matter.

  • ‘Truth always wins’: Congress on Shashi Tharoor’s discharge in Sunanda Pushkar death case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: After a Delhi court discharged Shashi Tharoor in his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death case, the Congress on Wednesday asked whether the prime minister would apologise for his “intemperate” remarks against him.

    Congress leaders hailed Tharoor’s discharge in the case, and said the truth always wins.

    Taking to Twitter, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The truth always wins. The constant abuse, innuendos and slander of our colleague Shashi Tharoor by BJP and its crony TV anchors comes to naught. Will the PM now apologise for his intemperate remarks? Will the same TV anchors do a debate and apologise today.”

    The truth always wins !The constant abuse, innuendos & slander of our colleague @ShashiTharoor by BJP & its crony TV anchors comes to a naught.Will PM now apologize for his intemperate remarks?Will the same TV anchors do a debate & apologize today?https://t.co/DhNIZTIzRZ
    — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 18, 2021
    Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “For seven years my friend and colleague Shashi Tharoor was harassed and subjected to vilification, abuse and mental torture.” “Today, he stands vindicated and the MoSha duo along with their hatchet men stand totally exposed. Jai Ho for the judiciary. All is not lost yet,” he said in a tweet.

    For seven years my friend and colleague @ShashiTharoor was harassed and subjected to villification, abuse and mental torture. Today, he stands vindicated and the MoSha duo along with their hatchet men stand totally exposed. Jai Ho for the judiciary. All is not lost yet!
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 18, 2021
    Tharoor in a statement also said his faith in the Indian judiciary stands vindicated and the ruling brings a “significant conclusion to the long nightmare” that enveloped him. “This brings a significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda,” Tharoor said.

    “I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained by my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated,” the former Union minister said. Special Judge Geetanjali Goel earlier pronounced the order discharging Tharoor in the case during a virtual hearing.

  • ‘Faith in judiciary stands vindicated’: Shashi Tharoor after discharge in Sunanda Pushkar death case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: After a Delhi court discharged Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death, the senior Congress leader on Wednesday said his faith in the Indian judiciary stands vindicated and the ruling brings a “significant conclusion to the long nightmare” which had enveloped him.

    Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing in the case related to Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel here. Taking to Twitter, Tharoor posted his statement and said, “This brings a significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda.”

    pic.twitter.com/7wQqAN3ZqF
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 18, 2021
    “I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained by my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated,” the former Union minister said.

    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.

    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 (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi Police, but was not arrested in the case.

    He was granted bail on July 5, 2018.

  • Congress MP Shashi Tharoor discharged in Sunanda Pushkar death case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday discharged senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel here.

    Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing.

    Tharoor thanked the judge, and said it was “an absolute torture for last seven-and-a-half-years” and that it was a “great relief”.

    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.

    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 (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi Police, but was not arrested in the case.

    He was granted bail on July 5, 2018.

  • Shashi Tharoor doubts presence of two Malayali Taliban in their victory celebration video

    By PTI

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday shared a video of a group of Taliban celebrating its victory in Afghanistan in his twitter account in which gun wielding men are heard speaking in Malayalam.

    “It sounds as if there are at least two Malayali Taliban her, one who says ‘samsarikkette’ around the 8-second mark & another who understands him!”, Tharoor wrote on his microblogging site after sharing the video posted on August 15.

    The video showed the Taliban member weeping in joy as they reached outside Kabul, hours ahead of falling of the Afghanistan capital in their hands.

  • Pegasus row: Lok Sabha Speaker meets officials on not appearing before Tharoor-led Parliment panel

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Taking note of a complaint filed by Congress leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT Shashi Tharoor, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is learnt to have met the secretaries of the home, information technology and telecom ministries, sources said on Wednesday.

    The three secretaries wrote to Tharoor conveying their unavailability to depose before the panel at its meeting on July 28, in which the committee was expected to take up the Pegasus snooping issue.

    A day after the meeting, Tharoor wrote to Birla informing him that the three secretaries were called to depose on “citizens’ data security and privacy”.

    The meeting was cancelled after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members boycotted it, resulting in a lack of quorum.

    The BJP MPs had accused Tharoor of using the committee for “forwarding the Congress agenda”.

    Tharoor met the speaker on several occasions on the issue of non-appearance of government officials before the standing committee meeting on July 28.

    Birla was expected to hold an informal meeting of all the panel members but so far, no such meeting has taken place.

    The committee is again expected to meet on August 17 to adopt the reports on “Internet Shutdowns in India” and “Media Ethics”.

    BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has been demanding Tharoor’s removal from the committee for allegedly forwarding his party’s political agenda.

  • At Kapil Sibal’s dinner, Opposition demands strong leadership in Congress to counter BJP

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal’s birthday dinner on Monday became a rallying point for the Opposition’s call for unity and change in the working of the Congress party to counter the ruling dispensation.

    On one hand, where the Gandhi family remained absent from the gathering, it witnessed an attendance of G-23 members including veteran Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad, party MP Shashi Tharoor, Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and P Chidambaram.

    As per sources present at the party, the occasion turned into another show of G-23 leaders, where for the first time opposition party leaders got together at a dinner table, and demanded changes in Congress leadership.

    The dinner was also attended by many important non-UPA leaders like RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Omar Abdullah from National Conference, Pinaki Mishra of Biju Janta Dal, Naresh Gujral of Shiromani Akali Dal, Sanjay Raut of Shivsena, Sanjay Singh of Aam Admi Party, along with many leaders of TDP, DMK, YSR Congress and TRS.

    As per sources, the political agenda was clearly discussed at the dinner table with a call for improvement on Congress leadership to put up a strong front against the ruling BJP-led government.

    “While Omar Abdullah questioned what steps were being taken to strengthen the Congress and stated that whenever the Congress is strong, the opposition becomes stronger, Sharad Pawar extended support to the G-23 leaders and said that we are with you in terms of whatever you are doing inside and outside your party,” sources said.

    The sources further informed that a section of leaders from Opposition parties also raised the issue of “no leadership in the Congress party” if they are willing to extend their support at the national front.

    “TMC leader Derek O’ Brien said that on one hand, Congress fights against TMC in West Bengal, on the other hand, the party wants TMC to be on board with them in Centre. A BJP leader also raised the issue of unclear leadership in the party and said, “there are issues in which we feel that we can align with Congress but whom should we talk to?” sources said.

    “YSR representative also said they are ready to forget the things in the past for the betterment of the country. Even Shiromani Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral said his party can be united on the farmer’s issue,” they added.

    They added that Akhilesh Yadav and Lalu Yadav also stressed the need for strong and united opposition against BJP while both leaders added that Congress should use the experience of senior leaders like Kapil Sibal.

    The timing of the meeting is also interesting when the monsoon session of Parliament has few days left and opposition has tried to show unity when it comes to taking on Central Government on the issues like Pegasus, Farmers Agitation, and Inflation.

    But it’s more alarming for the Congress Party which is trying to showcase and built-up the leadership of Rahul Gandhi as the Wayanad MP is leading the Opposition.

    Rahul Gandhi hosted a breakfast for Opposition Party leaders at the Constitution Club in Delhi, a few days back and Congress Party had claimed in a press conference that it’s a picture of 2024.

    However, the gathering at Sibal’s residence has been organized on a day when Rahul Gandhi is in Srinagar.