Shashi Tharoor to receive ‘Veer Savarkar Award’? Congress MP says his name was announced…

Amid rumors of differences with Congress’ top brass, party MP Shashi Tharoor has been announced as the recipient of an award named after RSS idealogue VD Savarkar. However, the  Thiruvananthapuram MP said he will not accept the “Veer Savarkar Award”, and chided the organizers for announcing his name without his consent.

What did Shashi Tharoor say?

Talking to reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Shashi Tharoor categorically stated that he would not accept an award named Savarkar, and won’t won’t attend the event where it will be presented in the absence of clarifications about its nature or the organisation presenting it.

Tharoor also asserted that “it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my having agreed to receive it”, adding that he only heard about the award on Tuesday. “I heard about it yesterday only. I am not going. I am not here,” he said.

‘Wasn’t aware of any award’

Later, in a post on X, Shashi Tharoor said, “In the absence of clarifications about the nature of the award, the organisation presenting it or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise.”

The Congress leader claimed he found out from media reports that he was named as a recipient of the award when he went to Kerala to vote in the local body polls on Tuesday, and stated that he had clarified then that he was neither aware of, nor had accepted, such an award.

“Despite that, today in Delhi, some media outlets continue to ask the same question. Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally,” Tharoor added.

‘Tharoor was informed in advance’

Meanwhile, Aji Krishnan, the secretary of the Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS), which is presenting the award, countered Tharoor’s statement, claiming that the Congress MP had been informed about the matter well in advance.

Talking to a TV news channel, Krishnan said representatives of HRDS India(BHARAT) and the chairman of the award jury had met Tharoor at his residence to invite him and the MP had asked for a list of the other recipients of the award.

“We gave him the list. He has not yet informed us that he will not come for the event. Perhaps he is scared as the Congress has made it an issue,” Krishnan claimed.

Shashi Tharoor was chosen as one of the recipients of the inaugural Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025, instituted by HRDS India(BHARAT), on Wednesday in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, he had said that he heard about the award through the media and that he was not aware who was giving it. “I am not aware of anything related to the award. Let me find out what it is.”

‘Savarkar bowed before British’

Asked about Tharoor being nominated for the award, Congress leader K Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept any award in the name of Veer Savarkar “as he had bowed before the British.”

Muraleedharan said that he does not believe that Tharoor will accept the award as doing so would insult and embarrass the Congress party.

Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said it was Tharoor’s decision whether to accept the award or not.