Shashi Tharoor's stint of less than a year as a Union Minister was dogged by a spate of controversies from his stay in a five star hotel to the high-voltage Indian Premier League row involving him and Sunanda Pushkar, whom he reportedly intends to marry.
In his 'last appeal' to the over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates who constitute the electoral college to pick the next All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief, Tharoor noted that from his conversations over the last few days he gathered that many of them may have concerns or hesitation about change.
While the entire Congress went hammer and tongs against Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan's 'Amul Baby' remark against Rahul Gandhi, former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor says he does not find it insulting.
Tharoor, among the group of 23 leaders who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale reforms, said 'reformists' at the end of the day wanted a more consultative process where a wide variety of voices would be heard and taken into account before decisions were made.
Counting of votes began on Wednesday in the Congress presidential polls in which senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
Expressing resentment at party MP Shashi Tharoor praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress' Kerala unit on Wednesday decided to submit a report to the party high command seeking suitable action in the matter.
Well-known author Shashi Tharoor, who was in the race for top UN post, on Wednesday said buoyancy in the stock markets and robust economic growth have not touched the lives of poor in India.
Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor tied the knot on Sunday, with Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar in a typical Malayali wedding ceremony in his ancestral home at Elavanchery village near Pallakkad, in Kerala.
In an hour-long meeting held on Tuesday evening, All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardan Dwivedi reportedly warned Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor that his various controversial statements were proving to be an embarrassment for both the party and the government. Sources in the party say that Tharoor defended himself on the use of the word 'interlocutor' in the context of India seeking Saudi Arabia's help.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the post of Congress president, not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.
Tharoor said he learnt of the new word pogonotrophy, which means the growing or cultivation of a beard, from a friend.
A top six-page secret Intelligence Bureau report on the Shashi Tharoor controversy has advised the Centre to arrive at a political decision, pressing the Minister of State for External Affairs to resign, sources have said.
BCCI's media and finance committee chairman and Congress M P Rajiv Shukla on Friday defended junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor on the Indian Premier League's Kochi ownership row, saying that there was 'no reason to disbelieve him'.
The Kerala high court on Wednesday declined to stay further proceedings pending in a lower court against Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and posted for Thursday the case relating to alleged disrespect to the national anthem.
While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi calling for a 'free and fair' election.
Union Minister of state for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Thursday dismissed as "unfounded and misleading" the charges by Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan who had accused him of using public platforms to deride the Left Democratic Front government in the state.
'I assured them I will not back away. I will not betray those who have supported me till now. Their confidence in me is what gives me the strength to move forward'
'I will win the election. The Congress and BJP are fighting for second place.'
The second phase of the Budget session of Parliament commenced on Thursday with all the attention turning on Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded the sacking of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in the wake of controversy over Indian Premeir League's Kochi team ownership.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, a former United Nations under-secretary general, made an unscheduled visit to quake-hit Haiti over the weekend, meeting with the survivors of the calamity, the Indian peacekeepers as well as the Caribbean nation's President, Rene Garcia Preval at his makeshift home.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday described Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor's tweet on new visa rules as 'callous' and said the government should clarify its position on the issue instead of "speaking in different voices". "Tharoor has made a callous remark (on 26/11 killers not needing visas). How can a person in his position make such statements even in jest," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday ticked off his junior minister Shashi Tharoor for publicly questioning new visa guidelines, saying if he had any "perceptions", those should be discussed within the "four walls" of the government.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday hit back at IPL commissioner Lalit Modi alleging he had made attempts to pressure the winning consortium to abandon their bid for the Kerala outfit.
India does not wish to destabilise Pakistan in any manner and wants to maintain good relations with that country, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said in Palakkad on Thursday.
Amid the row over a new set of unparliamentary words, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Sunday said he would treat the list as indicative rather than definitive, and 'speak normally' in the House and see whether it is applied in a 'draconian manner' to stifle meaningful criticism.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay "neutral" in the elections, sources said.
Kenney Jacob, an online supporter, has been a very active campaigner and feels that Shashi Tharoor is 'nothing but a victim.' He spoke to rediff.co's Vicky Nanjappa about the page, and how Tharoor is trending online today:
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late on Sunday night, the second time in a day, amidst speculation that he may resign.
Beleaguered Minister for State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday amidst indications that he may get a reprieve at least, for the time being.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Monday expressed appreciation over Indian Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar informing the Indian government about reports of corruption. However, he remained mum over the Centre's delay in taking action against officials who had allegedly accepted bribes from US companies. The government would initiate action against corrupt officials at the earliest, he added.
A parliamentary panel on external affairs has expressed concern over China's growing presence and influence in the Indian Ocean Region, citing risks to India's national security and strategic interests. The panel also highlighted the strengthening China-Pakistan naval nexus as a cause for concern.
After a Delhi court discharged Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death, the senior Congress leader on Wednesday said his faith in the Indian judiciary stands vindicated and the ruling brings a "significant conclusion to the long nightmare" which had enveloped him.
Sharing a poster of the movie, Tharoor had tweeted on Sunday, "It may be 'your' Kerala story. It is not 'our' Kerala story."
Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi on Friday accused Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor of having an agenda in promoting the Kochi IPL fanchise, and asserted that he won't let that agenda succeed.
Often surrounded with controversies over his use of words, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said he has been "brought down" as there were "elements in our society who rather revel in bringing down people as well".
Under fire, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor will make a statement on the IPL controversy in the Lok Sabha at noon in the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal on Friday.
With the Kerala Youth Congress elections round the corner, the bitter rivalry between state party president Ramesh Chennithala and leader of Opposition and former chief minister Oomen Chandy has come to the fore. According to sources, Thiruvananthapuram's beleaguered Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has extended his support to Chandy, who has stood by the former minister of state for external affairs though the present IPL crisis.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who is embroiled in a row over the ownership of Indian Premier League's Kochi franchise, on Sunday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apparently to explain his position on the issue.
Rejecting speculation that Shashi Tharoor was asked to step down during his meeting with senior Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony, sources close to the Minister of State for External Affairs said on Wednesday night that things were "okay" on the issue.
