Responding to South First, Tharoor said he was disappointed with "secular minded individuals" joining a party with "communal agenda".
Published Apr 10, 2023 | 12:07 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 10, 2023 | 12:08 AM
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor at KPCC office in Bengaluru. (Supplied)
Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Sunday, 9 April, expressed disappointment over Congress leaders like Anil Anthony, considered close to him, joining the BJP.
“I know them to be secular-minded individuals and I don’t think they will find a welcoming home in a party that is fundamentally committed, unfortunately, to a particularly communal agenda and I think that is a mistake,” Tharoor said to a question posed by South First.
“That’s where my disappointment (lies) with some of the people you mentioned who have gone to the dark side, as one might say. I think they will sadly have to repent their choices as they see how they are treated in their new home,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor, who is in Bengaluru to campaign for the Congress for the Karnataka Assembly polls 2023, insisted in a conversation with reporters that the number of leaders from the BJP and other parties joining the Congress in the state was indicative of his party’s “inevitable victory”.
“Well if you look at the Karnataka situation, five MLAs, two MLCs, 11 former MLAs, four former MLCs and one former MP have all joined the Congress, literally in the last few months. It does suggest that the people from other parties are seeing the Congress as an inevitable victorious party in Karnataka,” Tharoor said.
During his visit to Karnataka, Tharoor has been engaging with first-time voters, campaigning for the Congress’ Bytarayanapura candidate Krishna Byregowda, and addressing questions on urban development, governance, and employment.
The former Union minister raised allegations of corruption against the incumbent BJP government and sought a “clear mandate” for the Congress from the voters of Karnataka.
“I think the people in this state are tired of the 40-percent commission. What they want is 100 percent commitment and that’s what we will give. A 100 percent commitment to the well-being of the people of Karnataka,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.
Tharoor said the state was being badly governed and that the infrastructure in Bengaluru was becoming an embarrassment.
“Our message is very simple. We have seen, unfortunately, over four years now, bad governance. When there is bad governance and there is nothing to see, people inevitably wonder what they need a government for,” Tharoor said.
There were essential needs of the people that had not been met and the Congress party had already come out with a number of “very specific policies” to fulfil those needs, the Congress leader said.
He added that the Congress was coming up with policies such as ensuring that unemployed graduates and unemployed diploma-holders could get some support from the State so that they can live with self-respect while they search for jobs.
He also said the Congress was planning to honour the promise of Gruha Lakshmi — the homemakers’ scheme — so that they could get some compensation for their unpaid labour.
Tharoor said the Congress was “pledging to improve the infrastructure of Bengaluru which used to be the pride of Karnataka and India but which is now becoming an embarrassment”.
He added: “So, whether it is state-level governance or urban-level governance, we feel that there are serious deficiencies that the Congress government is ready and prepared to tackle.”
(With PTI inputs)
