Expressing resentment at party MP Shashi Tharoor praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress' Kerala unit on Wednesday decided to submit a report to the party high command seeking suitable action in the matter.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President V M Sudheeran said praises lavished on Modi repeatedly by Tharoor had hurt the Congress and United Democratic Front workers who worked sincerely and tirelessly for his victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency for a second time.
After interactions with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and other senior leaders, he said the KPCC would submit a report to the high command on the issue reflecting the sentiments of the party's Kerala unit.
"Tharoor has praised Modi on several occasions. This has hurt the sentiments of the Congress and UDF workers who have put up hard work for Tharoor's victory in the Lok Sabha polls," Sudheeran told reporters.
"Kerala is a state that has rejected the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) completely. This is mainly because of the democratic and secular outlook of the people. They also want the Congress to be strengthened further. Tharoor has wounded their sentiments," Sudheeran added.
Tharoor, who drew flak from the KPCC by responding positively to Modi's invitation to him for the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign, has maintained that his response would not mean that he even remotely endorsed the BJP's "core Hindutva" agenda and that he continued to be a "proud Congressman".
"It is completely ridiculous. I reject it completely," Tharoor had said when asked about talks in some sections within his party and outside that he was trying to get close to the BJP.
The Congress' official daily in Kerala Veekshnam, carried a stinging editorial on Tuesday raising questions about his loyalty to the organisation.
Image: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor
