''I believe revival of Congress…’: What Shashi Tharoor said after losing Congress election to Mallikarjun Kharge'

[Sukla Sen]

The revival of the Congress--and the survival of democratic and pluralist "India"--depends on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Tharoor is, no doubt, extremely smart and suave--unable to speak Hindi though.

A rather newcomer--a sort of valuable "guest artist".

Quite unfit to adapt to the hurly-burly of mass politics.

Kharge is a veteran, a Dalit, a long-standing fighter--rugged and gritty.

Can speak several languages -- including Hindi and English.

Right now the Congress is undergoing an attempted huge transformation -- via the massive and historic Bharat Jodo Yatra, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi. Transformation from a natural party of governance to an organisation of resistance--resistance to anti-"India" tyranny.

A Himalayan task, no doubt. But, the attempt is very much underway.

Tharoor's talk of "change" actually captures the dread of his and his likes of such a transformation.

He is by no stretch a street fighter--pretty comfortable in an air-conditioned TV studio or on the floor of the parliament, where he can comfortably enjoy conversing in fine English.

His position in today's Congress is somewhat--only somewhat--similar to that of Jinnah in the Congress after the advent of Gandhi.

The Congress workers know it in their bones.

So do the ill-wishers of the Congress. They're, therefore, all dead sure that Tharoor is the man that Congress needs today. Just not for nothing.

In any case, Tharoor is, definitely, not a bad loser.

Must be too disheartening for his backers from outside the Congress.

<<Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday elected the Congress president, a non-Gandhi chief after over two decades. Mallikarjun Kharge was running against Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress presidential elections with 7,897 votes, while Shashi Tharoor bagged a little over 1,000 votes. Reacting to the Congress presidential election results, Shashi Tharoor said it was a privilege to get the support of over 1,000 party workers.

In a statement, Shashi Tharoor said, “It is a great honour & a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia &I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues, & to carry the hopes & aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India."

“The decision of the party delegates is final and I accept humbly. It is a privilege be a member of a party that allows its workers to do their President," adding that he believes the revival of the party has “truly" begun today as the new Congress President is elected.>>

(Excerpted from:  <https://www.livemint.com/news/i-believe-revival-of-congress-shashi-tharoor-statement-losing-congress-presidential-election-mallikarjun-kharge-11666170238297.html>.)

[Sukla Sen]

Dear Dr. Tharoor,

Thanks for your mail pointing out the inaccuracy.

It's in two mails, in all, had referred to your inability to speak Hindi.

Extremely sorry for the inadvertent, or lazy -- if you so like, mistake.

Am forwarding this exchange to other recipients of the earlier two mails as an amend.

I must also, in the subject context, admit that I had as well erred in my--admittedly uninformed--guess that it'd be difficult for you to garner one-tenth of the (valid) votes cast.

In the event, you've done better than that.

Thanks again for correcting me.

Sukla

On Wed, Oct 26, 2022, 07:24 Shashi Tharoor <shashit...@gmail.com> wrote:

As a regular recipient of your emails, I have always assumed they represent a degree of accuracy when it comes to facts. But I was amazed to see you repeating the canard of my being allegedly unable to speak Hindi, when fifteen minutes on Google would have been enough to convince you otherwise. Not only have I been giving daily sound bites outside the Lok Sabha in Hindi during Parliament sessions for a dozen years, but I have been interviewed in Hindi on every major Hindi channel and several minor ones, appeared twice on "Aap ki Adalat" and similar long-format interview shows, and in the course of this Congress election campaign, made over fifty speeches in Hindi in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, in addition to granting dozens of election-related interviews and holding all my press conferences in a multi-lingual format.

It may be convenient for you to dismiss me politically to suit your political purposes, but such lazy assertions without the slightest attempt at verifying facts ill behoove someone who sends out a regular news mailer. A token gesture at accuracy in addition to character assassination would go a long way to enhance the credibility of your assertions.

Dr Shashi Tharoor, M.P.

Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram

Lok Sabha

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee

on Information Technology

Chairman, All-India Professionals' Congress

constituency office:

 TC 26/1592
Pulimoodu - Govt Press Road
Thiruvananthapuram 695 001, Kerala
tel: (+91-471) 2324-555

New Delhi office & residence: 

97 Lodhi Estate
New Delhi 110003
India

tel: (+91-11)2464-4035

Constituency residence:

Apt GJ, Condor Marigold
Bhakthy Vilasam Rd
Vazhuthacaud
Thiruvananthapuram 695014
Kerala
India

tel: (+91-471) 2324-555

If you would like to receive weekly emails of my writings, click on http://eepurl.com/bSoWc9

or scan this QR code:

Shashi Tharoor is on the web at www.shashitharoor.in, 

on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShashiTharoor
and on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor 

[P.S.: The first press conference held by Mallikarjun Kharge after being elected as the new Congress President: <https://youtu.be/xkIerUwZWzw>.]