Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's latest post on X, where he can be seen posing for a selfie with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynold, has further sparked the ongoing speculation about his rift with the grand old party.

Advertisment

The picture was shared following the discussions on the India-UK trade deal.

It captures a warm moment, with Tharoor flashing a bright smile as he stands alongside Goyal, who is equally beaming.

Taking to X, Tharoor wrote, "Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome."

Advertisment

This comes amid growing speculations of strained ties between Tharoor and the Congress after he hailed the policies of Kerala's ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front government.

Also read: ‘Important match today’: Shashi Tharoor dodges Congress rift questions

Advertisment

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 Narendra 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.

"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.

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)