Is Shashi Tharoor joining CPI(M)? Prakash Karat clears air

New Delhi: Days after questions were raised over Shashi Tharoor's future in the Congress, CPI(M) interim coordinator Prakash Karat on Thursday dismissed the possibility of his joining the Left party and said the Thiruvananthpuram MP never indicated that he would "desert" the grand old party.

In an interview with PTI, Karat also lauded Tharoor, saying he was not a "run-of-the-mill politician" and his views might, at times, be "inconvenient" for the Congress.

Asked about the speculations, Karat said, "I don't think Mr Tharoor had in any way indicated that he was going to desert the Congress." "I don't think he has given any indication of that. He has some views of his own, he is not a run-of-the-mill politician. You know his background… He sometimes speaks the truth, which is inconvenient, probably, for the Congress," said Karat.

The veteran CPI(M) leader said Tharoor had talked about how start-ups in Kerala were showing remarkable progress. "So, I don't think there is any truth in that." Tharoor's article in an English-language daily praising the entrepreneurial growth in Kerala under the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government kicked off a political storm last month, with the Congress questioning its basis and the CPI(M) welcoming it.

Tharoor later clarified that he did not praise the CPI(M)-led government but highlighted the state's progress in the start-up sector.

Kerala's ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress are constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

Later, Tharoor's comments in a Malayalam podcast were seen by many as the former Union minister pitching himself for a leadership role in the state Congress, which upset a section of the grand old party's Kerala leadership.

Tharoor later hit out at the media for misrepresenting his remarks.