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Shashi Tharoor with Piyush Goyal: Even though the photo also featured British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynolds, the picture added buzz over Tharoor’s future with the grand old party.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor along with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynolds.
A photograph of senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor along with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal went viral on social media on Tuesday, amid recent reports of Congress snub to the Thiruvananthapuram MP.
Even though the photo also featured British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynolds, the picture added buzz over Tharoor’s future with the grand old party.
“Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome,” the Congress MP’s post read along with the photo of the leaders smiling.
Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce & Industry Minister @PiyushGoyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome pic.twitter.com/VmCxEOkzc2— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 25, 2025
The X post comes days after reports stated that Tharoor had asked Rahul Gandhi to specify his role in Congress. Rahul, however, declined to address any of his grievances or suggestions.
Shashi Tharoor’s recent article in which he praised the industrial growth under LDF government had also created unrest within the party in Kerala.
When the Thiruvananthapuram MP was asked about the continuing criticism from Congress leaders in Kerala about his article, Tharoor said he is at a loss to understand the reason for the controversy.
“I have no issues with any of the leaders in the state. If they have issues, let them decide whether it is solved or not,” he said.
Answering a query if he had complained about sidelining him in the party at the state and national levels, Tharoor said, “I have never made any complaint against anyone.” He said the controversy over his article praising the Left Front government in Kerala for investment-friendly policies and startup programmes had ‘done some good’ as it had opened a scope for discussion on the issue.
“For the last 16 years, I have been talking about Kerala youth migrating to other countries due to unemployment and the need for startups and promotion of entrepreneurship in the state,” he said.
Tharoor said he wrote the article not based on any CPI(M) document, but the global startup ecosystem report and ease of doing business report of the Centre. “If there is a more reliable source, I am ready for correction,” he said.
“However, some leaders have differences of opinion on the reports and it is good that a discussion has started on the issue, creating a platform for different political parties and the people to voice their opinion,” he said.
“These are things we should discuss in politics–the future of the people and how we can take care of them. It is of no use if we talk about party politics only,” the Congress MP said.
