Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said he was relieved that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had accepted his explanation for his comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At a book launch on August 22, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said Modi’s governance model was “not a complete negative story”, and said demonising Modi all the time would not help the Opposition’s cause. The following day, Tharoor and party colleague Abhishek Manu Singhvi supported Ramesh. Tharoor claimed that he had argued for six years that the prime minister should be praised whenever he says or does the right thing, thereby adding credibility to the Opposition’s criticisms whenever he errs.

Subsequently, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee sought a response from the Thiruvananthapuram MP. On Wednesday, Tharoor told the party that he had never justified Modi’s actions and had been a strong critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party government. He also mentioned his parliamentary record.

“I am relieved that KPCC have accepted my reply and this unfortunate and unnecessary episode is over,” the parliamentarian tweeted on Thursday. “I am grateful to all those who have stood by me but will be making no further comment on this matter.”

Tharoor thanked Indian Union Muslim League MK Muneer and Muslim Youth League President Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal for their support. Muneer had said Tharoor was not a Modi loyalist and cannot be “pushed towards the fascist camp”. Munavvar had said Tharoor had always taken a strong stand inside and outside Parliament against Modi.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Mullapally Ramachandran, meanwhile, asked party colleagues not to publicly air their views on the controversy, PTI reported. “Yes, that controversy is over,” said Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. “There is no need for any more discussion.”

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