NEW DELHI: Congress’s mouthpiece in Kerala, Veekshanam Daily, on Monday criticised Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor for his remarks on Kerala’s startup sector in its latest editorial. Without naming him, the editorial slammed the Congress leader for praising entrepreneurial growth of the state under the Left government.
The publication in its strongly worded latest editorial advised against ‘betraying expectations of thousands of workers’ before upcoming local elections. The editorial emphasised an existing anti-incumbency sentiment and denounced efforts to suppress it.
The editorial came a day after the Congress leader clarified that his remarks were not meant to commend the CPI-M-led government in Kerala, instead, acknowledging Kerala’s startup sector progress.
The controversy erupted after the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s article in an English daily came into light, which focused solely on Kerala’s entrepreneurial development, avoiding political commentary.
However, Congress’ mouthpiece dismissed his explanations. The piece cautioned that the Congress-led UDF’s failure in local elections, despite favourable circumstances, would significantly impact the coalition. It criticised attempts to compromise electoral chances.
Under the heading “Ahimsa Award for the Executioner?”, the editorial suggested that undermining the party while it opposed LDF government’s shortcomings would be detrimental.
The piece accused the ruling CPI-M of destroying Kerala’s industrial sector, questioning praise for the Left government’s industrial achievements. It highlighted industrial progress during previous chief ministers’ tenures, including R Sankar, C Achutha Menon, K Karunakaran, A K Antony and Oommen Chandy.
The article commended the contributions of former industry ministers including P K Kunhalikutty, T V Thomas, K A Damodara Menon. It questioned P Rajeeve’s distinctive contributions compared to previous ministers.
The editorial equated praising those responsible for agricultural and industrial decline to honouring an executioner with an ahimsa award.
It listed various CPI-M-led protests against industrial initiatives. The piece referenced significant projects by the then Congress chief ministers A K Antony and Oommen Chandy, noting Left party opposition.
The publication also questioned Tharoor’s positive remarks about Prime Minister Modi’s US visit. The mouthpiece said that PM Modi’s interaction with US President Donald Trump and trade-military agreements were not “great things.” It said that the gestures by the two leaders were just to improve their images.
While Congress questioned his remarks, the CPI-M endorsed his views. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the opposition, citing Tharoor’s article as evidence against UDF’s claims.
KPCC president K Sudhakaran accused the government of misrepresenting enterprise statistics without mentioning Tharoor.