"Politicising of health issues is a bane. 125-year-old Trivandrum Mental Health Centre recommended by experts for upgrading but Left Govt tried to divert resources," he wrote on his page at Twitter, the micro-blogging website. Earlier, Tharoor had evoked sharp criticism from Left parties, for his now infamous 'cattle class' remarks, which was interpreted in political circles as poking fun at the government's austerity measures.

In his latest tweet, Tharoor said he "called Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to thank him for accepting my plea to accord Centre of Excellence status and funding" to the mental health centre. The Minister of State for External Affairs also expressed his gladness that patients would now get high quality attention.

There were reports that Kerala government was opposing the Centre's plan for developing the oldest care centre for the mentally ill in the state into a centre of excellence. However Kerala Health Minister P K Sreemathy had earlier said the state government was keen on utilising funds allocated to the state and was open for discussions. Tharoor said he was tweeting "en route Kanpur to campaign in a by-election".