“Go watch the match,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told reporters on Sunday, as he shrugged off questions on a possible rift between him and the party over his recent praise of the Left government in Kerala and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States.

“It’s an important match today,” the MP from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram said, referring to the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan, which began in Dubai this afternoon.

The Congress leader was asked if “all is well between you and the party”. To this, he said: “No comments at all.” 

Mr Tharoor has come under criticism from several Congress leaders ever since he praised the CPI(M) government’s policies in Kerala and PM Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.

In an article in an English daily on February 14, the Congress MP praised the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government’s handling of the Kerala economy. 

His remarks were welcomed by the Left party but drew criticism from fellow Congress leaders. “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.

He also said the controversy over his article had ‘done some good’ as it had opened a scope for discussion on the issue.

Later, Mr Tharoor voiced a rare praise for Mr Modi after Mr 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 Mr Trump’s remarks, Mr Tharoor said: “To hear a man like Donald Trump, whose defence secretary yesterday (Thursday) 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.” 

His comments on Mr 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.