Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MPs from the state have decided to raise the issue of Dr Shashi Tharoor "eulogising" Prime Minister Narendra Modi before Sonia Gandhi.
Thrissur MP T. N. Prathapan on Monday shot off a letter to the acting Congress president demanding action for his comment against demonising the Prime Minister.
Earlier in the day, it was K. Muraleedharan who sharply criticised him over his remarks that Mr Modi’s good deeds should be appreciated.
The Vadakara MP said those leaders who keep eulogising Mr Modi should join the BJP and Dr Tharoor need not come to Vattiyoorkavu for byelection campaign.
He said people of Kerala are against Mr Modi and it was this anti-Modi sentiment that got reflected in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state.
He added that while all other 19 MPs from Kerala have a stand against him, Dr Tharoor should not be an exception.
“If Tharoor still wants to oppose the party by praising Mr Modi, then he should better leave the party. His praise for Modi might be because he hopes to escape from the murder case by pleasing Modi. I will be demanding before the AICC leadership to take stringent action against Tharoor," said Mr Muraleedharan.
Later, UDF convener and Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan said Congress MPs from the state need not eulogise Mr Modi as it is not their responsibility.
Dr Tharoor, the three-time Thiruvanantha-puram MP, had touched a raw nerve when he said he was consistently advocating constructive criticism for the last six years, praising him whenever he says or does the right thing.
He felt that it would only add credibility to the Opposition's criticisms whenever he errs.
He and other senior party leaders Abhishek Singhvi had last week came in support of Jairam Ramesh who had said that not recognising Mr Modi's work and "demonising" him all the time was not going to help.
Dr Tharoor defended these colleagues stating that what they had said was not wrong.
"If Modi had done something good, we should acknowledge it. Or else, we are going to lose credibility among the people," he said.
