Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on Sunday (Feb 23), sidestepped the questions about potential tensions between him and the party over his recent praise of the Left government in Kerala and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, saying, “Go watch the match.”

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Referring to the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan, which began in Dubai this afternoon, Tharoor said, “It's an important match today.”

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The Congress leader was asked if "all is well between you and the party". To this, he said, "No comments at all."

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Tharoor praised economic policies of Kerala govt

Tharoor sparked controversy within his party after praising both the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala and PM Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.

In a newspaper article published on February 14, Tharoor praised the economic policies of the Kerala government, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While the Left party welcomed his comments, Congress leaders criticised Tharoor’s stance.

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"As a Member of Parliament from Kerala, I wrote this article focusing on a specific issue—the transformation of the industrial landscape through the growth of the startup sector. As a Congress worker, I take pride in acknowledging that it was former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who initiated this change," he said in his defence.

Tharoor applauds PM Modi

Later, the Congress MP voiced a rare praise for PM Modi after US President Trump called the Indian Prime Minister a "great leader". "He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me," the US President said.

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Referring to Trump's remarks, Tharoor said: "To hear a man like Donald Trump, whose defence secretary called him the greatest negotiator in the world, announcing that the Indian prime minister was a better negotiator than he was, that sounds like something Mr Modi can put in the bank, that sounds very good."

Tharoor’s comments on PM Modi evoked strong reactions, prompting him to say that he spoke with India's interests in mind. "We cannot always speak only in terms of party interest," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)