The post Shashi Tharoor Takes Swipe at Centre Over VB-G RAM G Bill, Recalls Bollywood Lyric in Lok Sabha appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>read also: Shashi Tharoor Hails UDF Victory in Kerala, Congratulates BJP on Historic Thiruvananthapuram Win
The Thiruvananthapuram MP quoted the song line,
“Dekho o deewano ye kaam na karo, Ram ka naam badnaam na karo,”
to question the intent behind the legislation, asserting that the bill was not a simple administrative change but an assault on the very spirit and philosophical core of the rural employment programme.
The VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and was introduced in the Lok Sabha amid strong opposition protests over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the flagship scheme. Opposition members demanded that the bill be referred to a parliamentary standing committee for detailed scrutiny.
Introducing the bill, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Narendra Modi government believes in and follows Mahatma Gandhi’s principles, claiming that the Centre has delivered more for rural development than previous administrations. However, opposition MPs, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, strongly objected to dropping Gandhi’s name from the law.
Tharoor described the proposed legislation as a “deeply regrettable and retrograde step” that weakens the country’s commitment to the welfare of its most vulnerable citizens. He argued that Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Ram Rajya was not political symbolism but a socio-economic framework grounded in village empowerment and Gram Swaraj.
Tharoor said,
“The original Act acknowledged this deep connection by bearing Gandhi’s name. Employment guarantee and upliftment must flow from the grassroots, reflecting his principle of putting the last person first. Removing his name strips the bill of its moral compass and historical legitimacy,”
He also criticised the bill’s title, which combines languages to form the acronym “G RAM G,” calling it a violation of constitutional norms and mocking the attempt through his song reference.
Additionally, Tharoor questioned the financial restructuring proposed under the bill, particularly the move to place 40% of the financial burden on state governments. He warned that the measure was fiscally irresponsible and could render the programme unworkable across states.
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor Hails UDF Victory in Kerala, Congratulates BJP on Historic Thiruvananthapuram Win appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>read also: Shashi Tharoor Misses Congress MPs Meeting Chaired by Rahul Gandhi for the Third Time
In a post on social media platform X, Tharoor said,
“The mandate delivered by voters deserved respect, whether it favoured the UDF across the state or the BJP in the state capital. He noted that the results reflected a vibrant democratic spirit in Kerala.”
Calling the outcome a day of remarkable electoral results, Tharoor congratulated the UDF on its impressive victories in multiple local bodies.
He said,
“The performance was a clear endorsement from voters and a strong signal ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections.”
According to him,
“Sustained effort, a clear political message, and prevailing anti-incumbency sentiments contributed to the improved showing compared to the 2020 local body polls”
At the same time, Tharoor acknowledged the BJP’s breakthrough in Thiruvananthapuram. He offered his congratulations for what he termed a significant victory in the city corporation, describing it as a notable shift in the political landscape of the state capital.
The Congress leader said he had campaigned for change after what he described as 45 years of Left Democratic Front misrule, but ultimately the electorate chose another party that also promised a clear alternative in governance.
Tharoor said,
“This is the beauty of democracy. The people’s verdict must be accepted, whether it supports the UDF statewide or the BJP in my constituency”.
Reaffirming his commitment to public service, Tharoor, the Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, said he would continue working for the welfare of Kerala, advocating for the people’s concerns and upholding the principles of good governance.
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor Misses Congress MPs Meeting Chaired by Rahul Gandhi for the Third Time appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Tharoor’s social media posts indicated that he was in Kolkata on Thursday night to speak at an event organised by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation.
Rahul Gandhi, serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, chaired the meeting, interacted with the party MPs, and gathered their feedback on recent parliamentary developments. According to party sources, Gandhi remarked during the meeting that the government appeared to be ‘under pressure’ from the opposition on issues such as the Vande Mataram debate and electoral reforms.
read also: Shashi Tharoor Rejects Veer Savarkar Award, Clarifies Stance on Controversial Honor
This marks the third occasion on which Tharoor has remained absent from an important party meeting. Earlier, on December 1, the Thiruvananthapuram MP clarified that he had not deliberately avoided the Congress strategic group gathering held a day earlier. He explained that he was on a flight returning from Kerala when the meeting took place.
When questioned about the matter, Tharoor said, “I did not skip it; I was on a plane, coming from Kerala.”
His absence from a recent strategy discussion chaired by Sonia Gandhi, ahead of the Parliament’s winter session, drew significant attention—particularly because he had also missed the earlier meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue, citing health concerns.
According to his office, he was travelling with his 90-year-old mother on a later flight from Kerala, which made it impossible for him to reach Delhi in time. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal was also unable to attend the meeting owing to his commitments related to local body election campaigning in Kerala.
Tharoor’s repeated absence from crucial party deliberations has increasingly become a subject of discussion within Congress circles.
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor Rejects Veer Savarkar Award, Clarifies Stance on Controversial Honor appeared first on The Edge Media.
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“I will not be accepting the Veer Savarkar Award, nor will I be attending the event where it will be presented”- Shashi Tharoor.
Tharoor said, emphasizing that the announcement had been made without his agreement. He further stated that it was “irresponsible” for the organizers to publicly announce his name as a recipient without his confirmation.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader K Muraleedharan had expressed concerns about any party member, including Tharoor, accepting an award named after Veer Savarkar, given the latter’s controversial history. Muraleedharan pointed out that Savarkar had “bowed before the British”, and therefore, no Congress member should accept any honors linked to him. Muraleedharan also stated that he did not believe Tharoor would accept the award, as doing so could embarrass the Congress party.
In response to these comments, Tharoor clarified to reporters in New Delhi that he first learned about the award through media reports on Tuesday and had made it clear that he would not be attending the ceremony. “I heard about it yesterday. I am not going. I am not attending”, Tharoor said.
On social media, Tharoor reiterated his position, explaining, “In the absence of clarifications about the nature of the award, the organization presenting it, or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event or accepting the award does not arise.” He added that he had not been informed about the award beforehand and had only found out about it through media coverage.
Despite Tharoor’s statements, Aji Krishnan, secretary of HRDS India—the organization presenting the award—claimed that Tharoor had been informed about the award in advance. Krishnan mentioned that representatives from HRDS India had met Tharoor at his residence to invite him to the event and had provided him with a list of other award recipients. Krishnan suggested that Tharoor might have backed out of attending due to the controversy stirred by the Congress party.
Kerala’s Law Minister, P Rajeev, said it was ultimately Tharoor’s personal decision whether to accept the award or not.
Tharoor had been named as one of the recipients of the inaugural “Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025”, instituted by HRDS India, but his rejection has brought the issue of Savarkar’s legacy back into the political spotlight.
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor has withdrawn from engagements in the United Kingdom to protest the quarantine of fully vaccinated Indians. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The Congressman responded to a tweet from aviation analyst Alex Macheras about the UK government’s decision to impose a 10-day home quarantine and require vaccination tests for vaccinated people from Africa, South America, and countries such as India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Thailand, and Russia.
Responding to the tweet, Tharoor said: “Because of this I have pulled out of a debate at the Cambridge Union and out of launch events for the UK edition of my book #TheBattleOfBelonging (published there as #TheStruggleForIndiasSoul). It is offensive to ask fully vaccinated Indians to quarantine. The Brits are reviewing!”
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor’s Video Greeting: There’s An Onam Swing Tradition….” appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The Thiruvananthapuram MP stated, “I was persuaded to get into the spirit of things this year,” adding that the Onam swing custom is usually left to young girls.
In the approximately 30-second video, Mr. Tharoor is seen wearing a red kurta and a white mundu (a cloth wrapped around the waist) as he enjoys the swing custom, also known as Onam Oonjaal. With his extended family, the Congress MP celebrated Onam at his ancestral house in Palakkad.
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]]>The post Shashi Tharoor discharged of all the charges in the connection with Sunanda Pushkar death case. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing.
Tharoor thanked the judge, and said it was “an absolute torture for last seven-and-a-half-years” and that it was a “great relief”.
Check the tweet here :
Tharoor, a former union minister was currently on bail in the case. He was charge-sheeted by Delhi Police under Sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier, the pronouncement of the order got deferred in the matter. Special Judge Geetanjali Goel recently had kept the order reserved after prosecution and defence counsel concluded their arguments on the issue of framing of charges.
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]]>The post Questions About Gandhis’ Leadership at Kapil Sibal’s Opposition Dinner appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Questions were also raised concerning the Congress’s rebirth, which some politicians present claimed could only happen if the party was “liberated from the Gandhis’ leadership’s clutches,” according to insiders. The Gandhis were not in attendance during the event.
Other politicians pressing for reform in the Congress, such as P Chidambaram, Shashi Tharoor, and Anand Sharma, were among those invited. All three are among the party’s leaders who have raised concerns about the party’s future.
Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, Lalu Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, and Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party were among the opposition leaders present. The crowd also wished Akhilesh Yadav well in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
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