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Updated: Jun 22, 2020 21:32 IST

Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday denied all charges made by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and challenged his critics in the party to point out a single statement in which he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a mail to PCC president Mullaplly Ramachandran, contents of which were made available to the Hindustan Times, he said he was astonished to get a mail from him saying he justified the Prime Minister. The PCC chief had sent a show-cause to the MP on Tuesday after many MPs from the state protested Tharoor’s so-called statements praising Modi.

He said the hysterical reactions were based on the distorted reporting of a single tweet he issued supporting remarks made by Jairam Ramesh and Abhishek Singhvi. He said he still stands by his position of last six years that the PM should be praised when he says or does the right thing.

“Don’t demonise Modi is not my phrase either. I have demonized Modi, because they filed two cases against me for my critical remarks, in one case an arrest warrant, which my Congress critics should hail as a badge of honour, instead of demonsing me,” he said in the letter adding both, Ramesh and Singhvi, were made their remarks in public forums.

Watch | Congress divided over ‘demonising PM’ row, now Moily slams Jairam Ramesh

“I am more than slightly mystified to be seen by some of my own party men as some sort of BJP-inclined Modi sympathiser and to be asked for an ‘explanation’ for ‘praising’ someone I have not praised,” he said adding he will remain a strong and constructive critic of Modi. He urged his fellow MPs from Kerala to respect his approach even when they don’t agree with it. He also said it is difficult to point out a single leader from the state who has made 10% of his effort to study, research, anticipate and oppose the Modi government on every bills it sought to introduce against the spirit of the Constitution.

Tharoor is In Maldives to give finishing touches to his latest book, ‘The Hindu Way: An Introduction of Hinduism’.

His endorsement of Jairam Ramesh’s statement spurred many MPs from Kerala to seek action against him. Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala and PCC chief Mullapally Ramachandran said that Modi’s actions were unacceptable all the time and there was no need to portray him in good light. Former PCC chief K Muralidharan went on to say that Tharoor would be better off joining the BJP while Congress MP from Thissur, T N Prathapan, wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi seeking action against him.