Tharoor's office has made it clear that he will neither accept the award nor attend the ceremony, stating that the announcement was made without his knowledge or consent.
Published Dec 10, 2025 | 12:11 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 10, 2025 | 12:11 PM
Shashi Tharoor.
Synopsis: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor landed in a political controversy after an NGO announced that he would be conferred with an award named after VD Savarkar. However, Tharoor’s office said that he would not accept the award and that he was not aware of such an announcement being made in his name.
Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor landed in a political controversy after an NGO announced that he would be conferred with an award named after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue VD Savarkar.
Meanwhile, Tharoor’s office has made it clear that he will neither accept the award nor attend the ceremony, stating that the announcement was made without his knowledge or consent.
The Savarkar Award, also referred to by the organisers as the Savarkar International Impact Award, was instituted by HRDS India.
The organisation had announced that Tharoor would be among six awardees and that the award would be presented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at a function at the NDMC Convention Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
However, Tharoor’s office said that he would not accept the award and that he was not aware of such an announcement being made in his name. The office further clarified that Tharoor will not attend the event as he is scheduled to be in Kolkata for another programme.
His office stated that he had no prior knowledge of the award or its relevance.
“This is the first time he had heard about such an award. He has no idea why his name was announced,” a source close to the MP’s office said, adding that the matter needed to be looked into.
HRDS India, meanwhile, said Tharoor was selected for the award due to his interventions and influence at the national and global levels. The organisers had initially claimed that Tharoor had assured them of his presence at the event.
The announcement triggered sharp reactions within Congress.
Senior party leader K Muraleedharan said no Congressman should accept an award named after Savarkar, a figure who remains a deeply divisive presence in India’s political discourse.
The controversy comes at a time when Tharoor, a member of the Congress Working Committee, has faced criticism from within the party for some of his recent remarks, including comments seen as appreciative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With Tharoor firmly distancing himself from the award and declining to attend the ceremony, the episode, the Congress believes, seems to be a closed one.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
