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Published Nov 11, 2025 | 11:08 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 11, 2025 | 11:08 AM
Tharoor's birthday greetings to Advani sparked political ripples across parties.
If silence could trend, the Congress unit in Kerala would have gone viral this week. When Shashi Tharoor decided to post birthday wishes to BJP veteran LK Advani on X, complete with adjectives like statesman, modest and exemplary — the state Congress leadership discovered a new communication strategy, collective invisibility!
For the first time in memory, not a single Congress leader from Kerala rushed to issue a counter-statement, clarification, or at least a polite frown.
Even Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, who usually has a quote ready before reporters finish the question, maintained a silence so disciplined that party workers are considering bottling it for future use.
The reason, insiders say, is fatigue. “We have run out of synonyms for ‘personal opinion’,” confessed one weary functionary. Every few months, Tharoor praises something unexpected — the prime minister, the chief minister, and now the original Rath Yatri — leaving his party scrambling to invent new ways of saying “he speaks for himself”. This time, they simply didn’t bother.
The strategy meeting to decide on a response reportedly lasted six seconds.
”Should we react?” asked one leader. ”No,” came the unanimous reply. Someone noted that reacting to Tharoor was beginning to feel like chasing mosquitoes with a broom.
Further, Satheesan’s silence is being read as a masterstroke.
Months ago, the two had locked horns after Tharoor praised Kerala’s industrial progress under the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Satheesan had then questioned whether Tharoor was referring to the same Kerala “where investors need Google Maps to find a single factory”. The high command had to summon both for peace talks, and since then, the LoP appears to have embraced non-intervention as a way of response.
Now, as the local body elections approach, Congress leaders have realised that arguing with Tharoor provides little electoral oxygen and endless prime-time debate. ”If we respond, the media will ask five questions. If we ignore, they’ll move on in two hours” explained another leader.
”We’re choosing peace — and better TRP ratios.”
Party insiders say a new unwritten policy is in effect — “Do not disturb Tharoor”. If the Thiruvananthapuram MP praises another BJP stalwart next week, the Kerala Congress will pretend to be in “airplane mode”.
Meanwhile, Tharoor continues his diplomatic tightrope walk, thanking adversaries, praising rivals, and confusing allies. When asked about his party’s silence, he might well quote from his own Oxford days about “civilised discourse in public life”.
His colleagues, however, are more likely to quote from a Malayalam proverb, mounam vidwanu bhushanam (Silence is the best reply to unnecessary essays).
In the end, Tharoor’s latest post achieved what few campaigns manage: Total bipartisan reaction — BJP applauded, Congress panicked quietly, and Kerala just sighed. Somewhere in Thiruvananthapuram, a lone party worker typed “No comments” on social media and hit send with unprecedented relief.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
