New Delhi: Was Shashi Tharoor given a raw deal? Not many in the Congress feel that way. He crossed the lakshman rekha far too often and the party had to convey a strong message, not only to him but also to others going soft on Narendra Modi and his attention-hogging ways. The action – it came after his 'endorsement' of the Prime Minister’s Swachch Bharat Abhiyan - was necessary to set an example. None of them would say as much on record though. It also sought to convey it to the grassroots organisation that the top leadership was sensitive to their feelings.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was sacked as party spokesperson on Monday. Firstpost
The former UN diplomat was at pains to explain that his loyalty lay with the idea and not the person, but it did little to soothe the angry nerves of the Kerala state unit and the high command. "Congress president Sonia Gandhi has accepted the recommendation of the AICC disciplinary committee to remove Shashi Tharoor from the list of spokespersons of the AICC with immediate effect,” said the terse statement from party headquarters.
This comes in the heels of Tharoor being under possible fire in the Sunanda Pushkar death case where latest findings point towards a possible poisoning of his former wife in Delhi this January. But the Congress was quick to dispel any doubts over that as well. “Kerala state unit had made their objections to remarks being made by Tharoor over the past few months and they feel that it is hurting the party’s interests. The Congress president has acted on the disciplinary committee after examining their report,” said Shobha Oza, Congress spokesperson.
It needs no overstating that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has not enjoyed a great relationship with the former diplomat-turned-politician. Most believe that Tharoor has had the easy way to the top, and the Thiruvananthapuram MP has not helped his case by making statements that are open to being perceived as anti-party.
But the party seems to be learning from its mistakes, due attention was paid to ensure that this 'disciplinary' action doesn’t lead to more embarrassment for the party. Senior leaders gave the impression that Tharoor was kept in the loop on the developments and adequate precaution was taken to ensure that he leaves no room for doubt in anyone's mind with a press conference shortly after the announcement was made. While the leadership has been sympathetic towards him, the almost hostile attitude of the state leadership forced the high command to ensure that the 'outsider' is given some form of punishment.
Tharoor is one of the most popular leaders on social media and has been one of the rare spokespersons who never hesitated to speak his mind and that proved to be his undoing as well.
“It's a decision taken by the Congress President and that's final. There is nothing more to add or subtract,” said the party’s national spokesperson.
What is not lost on the party leadership is that they need to deal with leaders like Shashi Tharoor in a different manner, as after all they have made a 'lateral' entry into the party unlike others. But the changing political scenario and the increasing role of social media where Tharoor enjoys massive support had the high command do some serious thinking. This was not the only instance of him having made a gaffe in public, party's grouse runs right from his comment about 'cattle class' on airplanes in 2010 to his 'doors are always open for Naveen Patnaik' comment in 2013 had AICC running for cover. In this case, Tharoor didn't help matters by ridiculing KPCC leaders on his Facebook post where he wrote “they might finally actually read what I wrote instead of oral summaries.”
There is also a growing feeling within the party that Tharoor has been given the benefit of doubt for too long, and at a time when the party is looking to regroup, a strong signal needs to be sent to the party cadre at large. “There is no room for indiscipline any longer, plus he is a known figure and a party spokesperson too,” said a senior leader on condition of anonymity, adding that “...the Sunanda Pushkar episode could lead to more embarrassment for the party if reopened,” he confided. Perhaps he could learn from seasoned Congressmen to lie low till the controversy dies its natural death. But by those standards, Tharoor is hardly one of them.
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