For politics which runs without fear or favour

If every MP has freedom of speech, every party has well-considered patience with the MP who uses that freedom, and the public puts cynicism aside and sees democracy at work in such expressions, we would be worthy of our Republic

- Gopalkrishna Gandhi

You are not pro-government if you appreciate a good thing done by it. You are not anti-government if you criticise a wrong committed by it.

And so, I am entirely with the Congress Member of Parliament (MP) for Thiruvananthapuram when he feels inclined to praise Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's interactions with United States (US) President Donald Trump. His welcoming of the trade negotiations between the two leaders and their apparently beneficial (to India) outcomes is an expression of his objective appraisal. This praise was accompanied by his disquiet over the lack of any official indication of Modi having taken up with Trump, the wholly unacceptable treatment of Indians being deported by the US administration.

The two expressions – appreciation of the trade segment and dismay over the deportation process – amount to the politics which runs without fear or favour.

Shashi Tharoor's statement also included a clear disapproval of the illegal immigration into the US by misguided and misused Indians seeking a better life. No government and, for that matter, no Indian can condone or explain away an illegal act by a fellow citizen. Nor object to a foreign government taking legitimate steps to correct or reverse such illegal action. Tharoor has been honest in his praise, and unambiguous in his criticism which has included disapproval of the methods employed by the US administration as well as of the errant immigration-law breakers concerned.

In doing this, Tharoor has taken a risk. In fact, three. And no ordinary ones at that.