By IANS,
New Delhi : Why is Shashi Tharoor, India’s dapper junior foreign minister, always in trouble? His detractors might say the Twitter-happy minister is a political greenhorn and prone to indiscretion but his loyalists argue that he’s being targeted because he is so obviously different from the run-of-the-mill politician.
And the latest controversy over his remarks in Riyadh last weekend about Saudi Arabia being a “valuable interlocutor” between India and Pakistan is just an example, say aides close to the former UN diplomat and bestselling author who has almost celebrity status on the capital’s social and literary circuits.
Tharoor, 53, clarified that a section of the media had “misread” his remarks. “Any other interpretation was neither meant nor warranted,” he said in a statement after the uproar that he had suggested that Saudi Arabia mediate between India and Pakistan.
“There is a pattern to these attacks and obviously people do not want to see him in public life,” said a close aide who did not want to be named, pointing out that some had simply confused interlocutor with mediator.
“There has been a vicious personal attack on him,” he added, pointing out the numerous occasions when Tharoor’s remarks were misconstrued.
“But the prime minister backs him fully,” the aide told IANS.
Another senior official said the fact that Tharoor, a first time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, was articulate, high profile and had a successful career as a UN diplomat behind him, not to mention that he was the author of eight books, made him a natural target for envy.
Sources close to Tharoor, who could not be named because of the sensitivity of their jobs, strongly believe that at least some media outlets have an agenda to “dig out dirt” on Tharoor to embarrass him politically.
The former UN undersecretary general, who was India’s nominee for the post of UN secretary general, had said earlier that he came to India at the invitation of the Congress leadership.
“A lobby is working against Tharoor to destroy his political career. The meaning of
words interlocutor and mediator is different. He never said Riyadh should mediate. What is wrong in saying that India sees Saudi Arabia as a valuable interlocutor in relation to Pakistan?” Congress MP from Kannur K. Sudhakaran told IANS.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party had a different take.
“The problem is that he (Tharoor) is still in the hangover of UN secretariat. He should understand he is a member of the council of ministers in India and should watch only one thing — interests of India,” said S.S. Ahluwalia, Rajya Sabha MP.
“He may bring a new dictionary from the World Bank and UN secretariat to interpret the meaning of interlocutor. The spelling of interlocutor and mediator may be different but for the layman, it is all the same.”
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP P. Karunakaran also said that Tharoor should hone his political skills.
“As an external affairs minister, he deals with sensitive issues. He is facing problems as he lacks practical political experience. He is not part of this country’s political experience as he just has bureaucratic experience,” said Karunakaran.
Earlier, the minister of state for external affairs’ comments on the social networking device Twitter on the government’s austerity measures and immigration policy had provoked much debate.