Tharoor thorn in Cong's flesh

How do you solve a problem like Shashi Tharoor? This is a question that must be baffling the Congress leadership.

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The four-time Thiruvananthapuram MP has put his party in the spot more times than can be counted. His latest salvo was the effusive praise of BJP leader LK Advani, whom he described as a 'true statesman'. Greeting the BJP veteran on his 98th birthday, Tharoor lauded his commitment to public service, his modesty, and his decency. When the Congress leader was called out on social media for his praise of someone who had sowed the seeds of hatred, courtesy his rath yatra, Tharoor defended Advani, saying it was unfair to reduce his long years of public service to one episode. Just as Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy cannot be judged by the China debacle or Indira Gandhi by the Emergency alone, the same courtesy should be extended to Advani, he said. The Congress promptly distanced itself