Despite being criticised by his fellow Congressmen for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi a week back, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday overtly praised HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
In his tweets, Tharoor wrote that he enjoyed meeting Irani during a discussion on India’s educational challenges. He further called her an ‘engaged and receptive’ minister.
However, realising the responses his tweet could elicit, Tharoor without further ado, clarified his position on the statement. He said that his tweet was not a blanket endorsement of Irani and that his act was more out of civility.
Earlier, Tharoor, in an article, had said that the development-centric approach of PM Narendra Modi suggested that he had evolved into “Modi 2.0”.
He had also said that the manner in which NDA government had steered clear of hardline rhetoric was a welcome step.
However, his praise for Modi didn’t go down well with the other Congress leaders. The party distanced itself from Tharoor’s praise of Modi.
Moreover, Congress spokesperson Mani Shankar Aiyar went on to say that Tharoor’s statements and clarifications have reduced the strength of the party in the Lok Sabha from 44 to 43.
