‘Economic outlook & call to action’: Shashi Tharoor praises PM Modi’s lecture; ‘glad to have been in the audience’

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday praised PM Narendra Modi’s Ramnath Goenka Lecture, saying it combined economic themes with a cultural message and encouraged the country to stay “restless for progress”. He further expressed gratitude to be a part of the audience.Tharoor said that he attended the lecture at the Indian Express event on Monday, noting that the Prime Minister spoke of India’s “constructive impatience” for development and made a strong case for adopting a post-colonial mindset. “The PM emphasised that India is no longer just an ‘emerging market’ but an ‘emerging model’ for the world”, pointing to the economy’s resilience. He added that PM Modi addressed criticism of being constantly in “election mode”, saying he was instead in “emotional mode” to address people’s problems.Tharoor also highlighted the Prime Minister’s focus on dismantling what he called Macaulay’s 200-year legacy of “slave mentality”, saying a significant portion of the speech revolved around that theme. “PM Modi appealed for a 10-year national mission to restore pride in India’s heritage, languages, and knowledge systems. I wish he had also acknowledged how Ramnath Goenka had used English to raise a voice for Indian nationalism!” he said.He reiterated that “on the whole, the PM’s address served as both an economic outlook and a cultural call to action, urging the nation to be restless for progress”, adding that he was “glad to have been in the audience despite battling a bad cold and cough!”Tharoor’s comments come against the backdrop of recent controversies surrounding his own statements. Days earlier, he stirred debate by arguing that reducing senior BJP leader LK Advani’s decades of service to a single episode, “however significant”, was unfair, remarks that invited internal discomfort within the Congress. The party later clarified that Tharoor speaks for himself, saying his continued presence in the CWC reflects the organisation’s democratic character.He had also recently remarked that dynastic politics across parties poses a “grave threat” to Indian democracy and suggested it was time for India to trade “dynasty for meritocracy”. The BJP seized on those comments, calling them a “very insightful piece” on the state of political culture in the country.