Congress MP Shashi Tharoor defended his opinion piece on Kerala’s industrial growth after facing criticism from his own party. 

In a detailed Facebook post on February 16, Tharoor wrote in Malayalam that the controversy surrounding his piece was “a bit surprising”.

In The New Indian Express on February 14, Tharoor had written on Kerala “beginning to stand out as a model of economic innovation and sustainable growth”. He cited data from the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report to praise Kerala for a “staggering 254 percent compound annual growth rate: a phenomenal feat”. 

The piece also noted that Kerala still has a “long way to go” due to “cases of investor suicide – when people have sunk their life savings into business ventures and seen them lost because of labour trouble, political hostility and/or bureaucratic obstruction”. But, Tharoor wrote, “the vision and intention are admirable”.

His piece drew sharp criticism from leaders from the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, which is a Congress ally in Kerala, who accused Tharoor of downplaying contributions from past Congress-led United Democratic Front governments. 

Former Industries Minister and IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty dismissed Tharoor’s claims, asserting that UDF policies were instrumental in Kerala’s industrial development. “When (KM) Chandrasekhar was Industries Secretary with me, KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) started experimentally. After Achutha Menon and TV Thomas, KINFRA brought significant changes to Kerala’s industrial sector,” Kunhalikutty said.

Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan also questioned Tharoor’s data. “I am unsure on what basis Tharoor wrote the article. The Industries Minister claims three lakh enterprises were established in Kerala. If that were the case, each constituency should have at least 2,000 industries. Bakeries and small shops cannot be counted as industries,” he argued.

Veekshanam, the Congress mouthpiece in Kerala, also published an editorial slamming Tharoor for praising the CPIM government. 

The governing CPIM, meanwhile, welcomed Tharoor’s observations, particularly his remark that the Left Democratic Front government has facilitated this economic transformation. 

“That this transformation has begun under a communist-led LDF government seems astonishing, but it is not entirely surprising. The communists in Kerala, like their counterparts in West Bengal at the beginning of the century, understood that growth and prosperity lie in capitalism, entrepreneurship, and initiative – not in red flags, strikes, and agitations,” Tharoor had written.

In his Facebook post, Tharoor urged people to comment only after reading his piece. 

“There is nothing about party politics in it, I am talking about what Kerala needs to do to get out of the economic crisis,” he wrote.

This report was republished from The News Minute. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

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