Tharoor lauds Modi's Clean India initiative

Barely two weeks after being ousted as a party spokesperson over his statements praising initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor returned to social media with another round of appreciation for Modi’s nationwide cleanliness campaign, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

In a five-minute video message posted on his Twitter page on Sunday with details and footage of a clean-up drive he led at the Vizhinjam beach here on Saturday, Tharoor said the drive had “no political significance” and he saw it as part of a “national mission” but lauded the prime minister for providing an impetus to cleanliness drives that were carried over by various Union governments since Independence. 

“I’m grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he has continued the UPA (United Progressive Alliance)’s good work by re-baptising the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and raising it to the forefront of the national consciousness,” Tharoor said in the video.

The MP said in his message that he was not interested in “cleanliness as a photo op” and called for participation of all stakeholders cutting across political allegiances to make the campaign a success. 

He also sought commitment from the prime minister in reviving the sewage-choked Parvathy Puthanar canal here. 

Tharoor’s repeated statements of appreciation for programmes launched by the prime minister including the cleanliness campaign had irked the Congress’ state leadership. 

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had also submitted a report to the All India Congress Committee in this connection that led to his ouster as a party spokesperson on October 13.