Controversies
When appointed head of the public affairs division in the UN headquarters in New York, he moved his girlfriend to the office next to him.[34]
Tharoor attracted public attention for his article 'India's Israel envy'[35] which contained statements sympathetic to Israel. This was subsequently used against him during his contest in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Thiruvanathapuram constituency. He was able to refute the charges by pointing to his long record at the UN on Palestinian issues.
In September 2009, Tharoor and S M Krishna were accused of staying in luxurious 5-star hotels.[36] Tharoor defended himself, saying that it was because of the delay in his official residence being ready and he only spent from his own pocket for the accommodation.[37] Later on Pranab Mukherjee's request [38] Tharoor and Krishna moved out of the hotels.[39]
A controversy erupted on a joke in which Tharoor, responding to the question as to whether he would travel in "Cattle Class", replied that he would do so. This remark on Twitter (@ShashiTharoor), the media claimed that he equated the travelling public to cattle and also taunted his party, the Indian National Congress over their austerity drive.[40] It was also reported that Congress may take action against him.[41][42] However this was subsequently resolved when the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed out that it was a joke. Tharoor met his party leadership and offered them an explanation.
Another controversy erupted on Gandhi Jayanti when he said people should be working rather than staying at home, rather than taking a holiday, thereby paying real homage to Mahatma Gandhi.[43]
Tharoor was in the news again for publicly criticizing the new visa guidelines adopted by the Indian Government in the wake of the gaps exposed by the arrest of 26/11 terror suspects, David Headley and Tahawwur Rana. For this,he was criticized for breaking ranks with the official position of the Government. He later met External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna and explained his position on the issue. The rules were subsequently partly modified.[44]
In January 2010, Tharoor was inaccurately and tendentiously reported to have criticized Gandhi and Nehru for their vision on Indian foreign policy by the Indian media. This angered his party, the Indian National Congress.[45] In the wake of this controversy, he released a press release on his website which said "Irresponsible reporting may briefly gratify a few sensation-seekers in the media, but they do no credit to the need for informed discussion of foreign policy issues in our democracy. India deserves better. So, frankly, do I."
In February 2010 when accompanying[46] the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, he said "We feel that Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan, that makes Saudi Arabia even more a valuable interlocutor for us. When we tell them about our experience, Saudi Arabia listens as somebody who is not in any way an enemy of Pakistan, but a friend of Pakistan and, therefore, will listen with sympathy and concern to a matter of this nature". He was asked whether India expected Saudi Arabia, given their close ties with Islamabad, to help address the terror threat from Pakistan.[47] The remark about Saudi Arabia being a "valuable interlocutor" raised a strong reaction within the Indian political circle.[48] The Pakistani press even went on to report that he had proposed that Saudi Arabia play a mediator's role in improving India's relationship with Pakistan.[49] In response, Tharoor tweeted saying, "An interlocutor is someone you speak to. If I speak to you, you are my interlocutor. I mentioned the Saudis as our interlocutors, i.e. the people we are here to speak to".[47]
Main article: India – Saudi Arabia relations, section '2010 visit to Saudi Arabia by Manmohan Singh'
In April 2010, IPL chief Lalit Modi published the shareholders details of Kochi-IPL team's franchise owners, Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) group in his Twitter account[50] and also mentioned that he was asked by an influential Union Minister to not get into details of Sunanda Pushkar who was given a sweat equity of approximately 4.5 per cent of total equity (estimated worth Rs 70 crore) in Kochi IPL team.[51][52] In an official statement,[53] Tharoor denied having made any financial gains from the sale or having pressured Modi in any way. He further accused Modi of trying to delay and discredit the new owners so that the franchise can be re-awarded elsewhere. RSW protested Modi's breach of confidentiality agreement. Sunanda Pushkar also issued a statement denying being a proxy for Tharoor.[54]. Later amidst demands for his resignation from the Union Cabinet by the opposition parties,[55][56] Sunanda Pushkar gave up the sweat equity offered to her by RSW.[57] Allegations that this was pay back for denying a request to not issue a visa to a South African model close to Lalit Modi have surfaced, and so have death threats to Shashi Tharoor by the Mumbai underworld.[58] On April 18, 2010 Shashi Tharoor resigned from the post of Minister of State in MEA after being instructed to do so by the Indian Prime Minister. An internet support site has been set up to collect pledges for the support of Shashi Tharoor on the same day.
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