Congress distances itself from Shashi Tharoor's comment praising Modi

New Delhi: The Congress has distanced itself from party spokesperson Shashi Tharoor's views on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress said that the views expressed by Tharoor about Modi and the government are his personal views and it was too early to comment on the functioning of the government

"Congress party is still waiting for Modi ji to put in practice what he preached, my views are the party's views, party spokesperson Shobha Oza said.

Oza's comments came a day after Tharoor praised Modi in a US news website in where he said that Modi was looking to turn himself from a "hate figure into an avatar of modernity and progress".

Oza steered clear of questions as to what could be the trigger for Tharoor, to praise Modi. She also parried questions on whether any action could be taken against Tharoor.

In surprise praise for Modi, Tharoor had said that the opposition would be "churlish" in ignoring the voices of inclusive outreach of the new Prime Minister. "It would be churlish not to acknowledge Modi 2.0's inclusive outreach and to welcome his more conciliatory statements and actions," Tharoor had said.

He said that he has not heard intolerant language nor the language used in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections after Modi was sworn-in as the Prime Minister. He described the Prime Minster as "Modi 2.0" which he said has replaced "Modi 1.0".

In the article under the heading "How Narendra Modi may have evolved into Modi 2.0", Tharoor has emphasised that "to almost everyone's surprise, Modi and the BJP have eschewed the hubris and triumphalism they might have been assumed to have earned with their sweeping victory".

Citing various instances, the Congress leader had wondered whether this all adds up to a "Modi 2.0, a very different figure in government from the ogre some of us had feared and demonised for years?"

"It was still too early to tell, but the initial signs are encouraging. An ambitious man, Modi appears to realise that if he wants to make a success of his government, he will have to lead the nation from the centre and not from the extreme right where he had built his base in the BJP," he said.

Tharoor had argued that just as Modi remade himself from a "hate-figure into an avatar of modernity and progress", he was seeking to remake the BJP from a vehicle of Hindu chauvinism to a natural party of governance.

He added that the moment Modi says or does something divisive or sectarian in the "Modi 1.0" mould, the Congress party will oppose him.