Shashi Tharoor on why Congress remains the most credible opposition party

Congress MP and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Shashi Tharoor said that the Congress remains the most credible of the national opposition parties. While sharing a screenshot of the number of MLAs in top national parties in the country, Tharoor added that this is also why it is worth reforming and reviving.

Tharoor tweeted, “This is why Congress remains by far the most credible of the national opposition parties. It’s also why it’s worth reforming and reviving.”

Though it is not clear when this list was compiled since the Samajwadi Party, which won 111 seats in the recent Uttar Pradesh elections, did not figure but parties having less than 100 legislators made it to this list.

Meanwhile, Tharoor told India Today that the Congress needs to get its act together and the assembly election results are a setback that people in the party are trying to come to terms with. He said, “Members of Congress G23 wrote a letter two years ago because they wanted things to get better. But not much change has happened since then.” 

He added, “It is a concern that the party needs to get its act together.” Shashi Tharoor further noted, “As long as the party is an effective vehicle for advancing your own principles and values you hold dear, you should stay in the party and make the party a more effective place.”

The Congress MP’s tweet comes days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sealed the Assembly elections in four states – Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand—while the Aam Aadmi Party won a landslide majority in Punjab.

(With inputs from Dev Ankur Wadhawan, PTI)