Shashi Tharoor shares selfie with BJP minister amid rift rumours

Shashi Tharoor shares selfie with BJP minister amid rift rumours

Shashi Tharoor shares selfie with BJP minister amid rift rumours ByHT News Desk Feb 25, 2025 12:54 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Shashi Tharoor said in a recent interview that if his leadership was not required, he had other options as well.

Amid rumours of his rift with the Congress leadership, MP Shashi Tharoor posted a selfie with union commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Britain's secretary of state for business and trade, Jonathan Reynolds.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (right) with union minister Piyush Goyal (middle).(X)

"Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome," he wrote on X.

Shashi Tharoor had reportedly received flak from within the party apparently for praising the Kerala Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's industrial policy.

Further fueling speculation was Shashi Tharoor's cryptic post on X. "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," he wrote on Saturday.

Also read: Shashi Tharoor's ‘have my own things’ warning amid reports of rift with Congress

On Sunday, he said in an interview that if his leadership was not required, he had other options as well.

“If the party wants to use that, I will be there for the party. If not, I have my own things to do. You should not think that I have no other option. I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world to give a talk,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.

He told a Malayalam podcast of a newspaper that if the Congress did not try to expand its appeal in Kerala, it would be sitting in opposition for the third consecutive time in Kerala.

Tharoor's praise for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government's handling of Kerala's economy had drawn criticism from Congress leaders in the state, which will go to polls in 2026.

Tharoor had subsequently clarified that his article did not seek to survey the entire Kerala economy, which "remains in dire straits." He said that he wrote about a specific subject – the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone.

"First of all, I wrote it as a Kerala MP on one specific subject, the changed industrial climate as evidenced by the start-up ecosystem alone," Tharoor had said.

"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 upon," he added.

According to a report, Tharoor expressed disappointment at being sidelined within the party.