Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has stated that he will consider retiring from politics “either in 2024 or after five or six years.”

In response to questions on Rajat Sharma’s show ‘Aap Ki Adalat,’ which will air on India TV on June 3, 2023, Tharoor stated, “I am not the type of politician who will stay in politics until the end…When you feel like you aren’t making a significant difference in people’s lives, I like to watch cricket, read books, or spend time with my grandchildren. I’ll make a decision when that time comes. Maybe in 2024, or five to six years. “I’ve already made my decision.”

Shashi Tharoor responded to a question about whether he would accept some leaders’ proposal to run for Congress CM in Kerala, saying, “I will consider all options.” Thiruvananthapuram’s people have placed their trust in me, and I will not betray them. If I am to run for office, I will have to serve them. Concerning the second prospect, if I am allowed to lead the party and effect change in my state, it will be a fitting end to my political journey (yatra). But I need time to think about it, and I need to hear from my party. I’ll need to hear other people’s perspectives as well before making a decision.”

In response to Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks in the United States about India’s domestic issues, Shashi Tharoor stated that, while he would never speak about India’s domestic issues in foreign lands, he sought to defend Rahul Gandhi by stating that Rahul never sought foreign help to solve domestic issues.

“He (Rahul) never said anything like that. The allegation is false. Our democracy faces numerous challenges, according to Rahul Gandhi Ji. At the same time, he stated that it is our responsibility, not others, to solve them. You must understand that if India remains democratic, the entire world will benefit. But he never invited outsiders to come and assist us.”

The Congress MP said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who first mentioned India’s domestic issues on foreign shores. Tharoor said, “I have been saying for years, India’s foreign policy is not Congress’ or BJP’s foreign policy. Our foreign policy is based on India’s interests. In the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, I said in this spirit. Look, we can have political differences, but they end on our country’s borders. Our differences must not reach outside. But it is also a fact that BJP and Modi Saheb broke this policy first. Modi Saheb had said in foreign lands that nothing has been working well in our country till now and those who governed our country badly for 60 years never created a sense of pride so that people could say that they are Indians. Modi Saheb started giving this type of speech in foreign lands. I was surprised. Never did our Prime Ministers speak about Indian politics in a foreign land. Modi Ji started all this.”

Tharoor also said that no Indian politician should criticize our Prime Minister abroad. He said, “I want to tell you this, I never leveled personal allegation against anybody, neither against Modi Saheb nor against anybody else. But in our democracy, we have to give respect to a position, because people have elected our Prime Minister. Till the time, that person occupies the position of Prime Minister, he must be given respect. We can be political adversaries here in India, but when we go abroad, he is our Prime Minister. I never criticize him abroad.”

SUNANDA PUSHKAR’S DEATH

After a long time, Shashi Tharoor spoke on the legal problems he had to face after the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in a hotel in 2014. Tharoor was exonerated from all charges, including abetment to suicide, by a Delhi trial court in 2021.

Tharoor said, “I never speak personally about politicians, but I have two or three persons in mind, whom I will never forgive. They knew it was a lie, and yet they continued telling lies. It’s not possible to forgive.”

The Congress MP spoke about his relationship with Sunanda Pushkar he said, “It was a relationship of love. Naturally. Look at the arrangement, between a Kashmiri Pandit and a Keralite. We married after falling in love, but some people tried to make political use of her death. I had to go to court for many years, and at last, the judge threw out the case saying “It is all ‘backward’, there is no evidence of suicide, no evidence of murder. The judge discharged me saying there is no case at all. The case must end.”

Shashi Tharoor said, “Imagine how one would feel. Those who know me personally, know I cannot attack anybody. I never raised my hand even to a child. Her two brothers, and the only son, were all with me and told me, we know it can’t happen. But outsiders, who never knew us, found a political opportunity. In the early stages of our politics, such attacks or remarks against anybody’s personal life were never considered appropriate. Nobody used to comment on other politician’s private life. So many people knew about Vajpayee Saheb’s private life. They used to talk among themselves but never used the media. But I think, nowadays our culture has changed, and that too, for the worse.”

On his reported differences with Sunanda Pushkar before her death, Tharoor said, “If you read her tweets, you will know, it was not so. She had some mental issues. One day, she used to write a loving tweet, and the next day, something else. She was never a bad girl, she was mentally ill. (Woh bilkul bhi buri ladki nahin thi, beemar ladki thi.) One should have some sympathy for her. I said in Parliament, when the bill relating to mental health was brought, that you can offer sympathy to a person who has a broken leg, but there is no sympathy to a person who has a mental breakdown. This is very sad.”