Shashi Tharoor's cryptic post amid reports of rift with Congress: ‘Where ignorance is bliss…’

Amid reports of an ongoing rift within Congress party and its leader Shashi Tharoor, the latter put out a cryptic post. On Saturday, he shared a quote from English poet Thomas Gray's poem 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College' on X, formerly Twitter, which read “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.”

“Thought of the day,” Tharoor captioned the post.

Rift between Shashi Tharoor and Congress?

Tharoor’s post comes as there are reports of a rift emerging between him and the Congress party, allegedly over an article in which Tharoor praised the Kerala government’s policies. Shashi Tharoor had also reportedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.

Clarifying his statements, Tharoor told news agency ANI, “For 16 years, I have been in politics. My attitude has been that when somebody in the government, whether it's our government or some other party's government, does the right thing or does something well, one should acknowledge and praise it, and when they do something badly, one should criticise it.”

He also said that his article praised the entrepreneurial growth of Kerala under the current Left regime and not the government itself. “There is MUCH more to be done. But when something good emerges, even if only in one area, it is petty not to acknowledge it. I based myself principally on the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, and on the specific facts & figures cited in my article," ANI quoted him as saying.

"Final request: read the article before you comment on a one-line summary! It doesn't mention party politics, but speaks of things Kerala needs to do to get out of the economic doldrums -- changes I have been demanding in the state during all my 16 years in politics,” he added.

There are also reports that Tharoor is unhappy over non-clarity about his role in the Congress party and being sidelined. According to a Times of India report, which cited sources in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is also unhappy over Rahul Gandhi's unwillingness to clarify the high command's expectations of him.

HT.com couldn’t verify the claims made in the report.

Tharoor had met Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday after the former faced flak from the party’s Kerala unit over his article. However, in contrast to the speculations, Tharoor said that he had a “very good” conversation with Rahul Gandhi without giving further details about what they discussed, reported news agency PTI.

When asked about whether he is unhappy over allegedly being sidelined in the party, Tharoor answered, "I have never made any complaint against anyone."