In the past 11 years,
Shashi Tharoor has gradually grown a potbelly similar to that of
Mahabali
. But the similarity doesn’t end there.
Mahabali’s reign evokes memories of justice
, equality and prosperity and many of Tharoor’s activities too have people’s welfare at their core.
When Covid-19 hit the state, Tharoor used all his clout to bring more test kits, thermal scanners and PPE for health workers. When the entire country was locked down since the last week of March, he used a parallel logistic network to transport 3,000 rapid test kits from Pune to Thiruvananthapuram. The city was first in Kerala to get thermal and optical imaging camera with AI-powered facedetection technology.
As Chingam dawned, Tharoor was preparing for a rebellion, in fact, two rebellions. In Kerala, he dared to challenge his party bosses and welcomed the BJP government’s decision to hand over
Thiruvananthapuram airport’s management
to a private company. The firm conviction about the needs of his people helped him win thousands of followers who have launched the hashtag campaign #JeevananuTharoor on social media. In New Delhi, he challenged the Gandhi family’s supremacy with a ‘letter bomb’. Well, his detractors too have no doubt that Tharoor is a Mahabali. “How else can you describe someone who visits his constituency only once in a year,” asks a political opponent.