Shashi Tharoor defends his article on Kerala's growth following criticism from UDF

Thiruvananthapuram: Defending his recent article in an English daily that stirred a political controversy, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has clarified that not highlighting the industrial advancements made during the previous UDF regime was not intentional.

In a late-night Facebook post in Malayalam, he said: "The main focus of my article was the figures presented by the current Industry Minister, who stated that the CPI(M)’s general policy had not been industrial investment-friendly and has undergone changes."

Tharoor's clarification came in response to the political storm triggered by his article, in which he praised Kerala's entrepreneurial growth under the LDF government. While his party questioned the basis of his claims, the CPI(M) welcomed them.

The Congress-led UDF strongly flayed Tharoor, accusing him of "overlooking" the industrial sector's achievements during its tenure in the state.

In his post, he stated that some have noted that his article has not referred to the technological advancements made during the previous Oommen Chandy government. "This omission was unintentional," he said.

The post added that the article was about whether the current CPI(M)-led government has shifted its approach to technology and industrial growth over the years and whether these changes have benefited Kerala.

Tharoor also praised the UDF, stating that under the leadership of P K Kunhalikutty, who handled the Industry and Information Technology portfolios in the previous Oommen Chandy government, Kerala witnessed significant achievements and substantial growth.

The state's first Global Investors Meet (GIM) was also held during the A K Antony government under the leadership of P K Kunhalikutty, the post noted.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly V D Satheesan sparked the debate on the issue on Saturday by questioning the basis for Tharoor's article and later Congress general secretary K C Venugopal too sought to know the context behind the Thiruvananthapuram MP's statements.

Tharoor responded to Satheesan's queries by remarking that the opposition leader should read the article and added that he wrote it based on the "facts, documents, figures and dates" as well as the Global Startup Ecosystem report and "Kerala's performance".

As the Congress questioned the basis for Tharoor's article, the CPI(M) came to his defence by saying that the MP from Thiruvananthapuram only stated facts.