Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor recently praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his US visit, where the latter met President Donald Trump. The statement reportedly didn’t sit down well with the Indian National Congress (INC) high command. After this, Tharoor had also applauded the industrial policy of Kerala Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

After this, there have been rumors of a rift between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress. Amidst all this, the added fuel is the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s recent statement, where he said, “If the party wants me, I’ll be there for the party. If not, I have my own things to do. You should not think I have no option to spend time. I have options.” He added, “I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world for talks.”

Even though when Tharoor was asked about his relations with other senior leaders of Congress, he refrained from giving any remark om Sunday. He told the media, “No comments at all.” When he was asked a similar question again, Tharoor replied, “Go watch the match; it’s an important match today.”

Not only the statements coming over these days, Tharoor also shared a cryptic post on Saturday on X, fueling speculations about his widening differences with the senior Congress leaders. The quote in his post read, “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise” by Poet Thomas Gray.”

Talking about the present situation of Congress party in Kerala, Tharoor addressed that “several workers feel that there is an absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress.” These comments are right in before the assembly elections in Kerala which are set for in the year 2026.

Shashi Tharoor had praised the Pinarayi Vijayan led Kerala government in his article published in an English daily. He had praised the industrial policy of the government handling Kerala’s economy. The remarks had sparked criticism from other Congress leaders of the state. However, Tharoor had said that in the article he was particularly talking about a subject, Kerala’s economy still “remains in dire straits.” The subject restricted to the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone.

Further, he wrote on X, “As a Congressman, I am proud that this builds on an initiative undertaken by former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy, who established the Start-up village and the State’s Start-up mission in the first place—which the present government has built on.”