Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday defended his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his meeting with United States President Donald Trump, stating that he spoke with India's interests in mind and that 'we cannot always speak only in terms of party interest'.
Speaking to reporters, Tharoor said that Modi's US visit had yielded some positive outcomes for the Indian people.
He also noted that Modi being the fourth world leader to meet Trump after he took office underscored India's growing importance on the global stage.
At the same time, he pointed out that the visit left some questions unanswered, such as why the issue of how illegal immigrants were returned to India was not addressed.
"Did PM Modi raise it behind closed doors? In diplomacy, not everything is laid out publicly," said Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
Welcoming the agreement to hold trade and tariff negotiations over the next nine months, Tharoor remarked, "It's far better than Washington hastily and unilaterally imposing tariffs on us, which could have hurt our exports. To my mind, something good has been achieved, and I applaud that as an Indian. We can't always speak only in terms of party interests. I am not a party spokesman."
Tharoor emphasised that as an elected MP representing Thiruvananthapuram, he speaks as a responsible stakeholder in Indian democracy and on behalf of those who have placed their trust in him to exercise his judgment and speak fairly and freely on certain issues.
"In this particular case, I am speaking solely in the national interest," he added.
Tharoor further stated that throughout his 16-year political career, his approach has remained consistent; acknowledging and praising good governance, regardless of the party in power, while also criticising when necessary.
"When someone in government, whether from the Congress or any other party, does something right, it should be acknowledged and praised. When they do something wrong, it should be criticised," he said.
"I have done both -- I have praised and I have criticised. In fairness, I base my stance on facts. That I believe is the right approach."
He added that consistently praising or criticising the government would undermine his credibility.
"If I were to praise all the time, no one would take me seriously. If I were to criticise all the time, no one would take me seriously either," he explained.
Tharoor also criticised the tendency of political parties to oppose each other reflexively.
"The real problem arises when the opposition believes everything the government does is wrong, and when the government believes everything the opposition says is wrong," he said.
"There has to be some give and take in a democracy," he added.
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