Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday issued a detailed clarification after reports surfaced that he had been selected for the ‘Veer Savarkar International Impact Award’. Tharoor said he only learned of the supposed honour on Tuesday while he was in Kerala and said that he had neither been informed nor had agreed to accept any such award.
‘Irresponsible on part of organisers’
Tharoor took to X and posted, “I have come to know from media reports that I have been named a recipient of the “Veer Savarkar Award,” which is to be presented today in Delhi…it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my having agreed to receive it.”
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He noted that despite his clarification in Kerala, media organisations continued to question him after he returned to Delhi. “Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally,” he said. Tharoor added that he had received no details about the nature of the award or the organisation presenting it. “The question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise,” he further said.
I have come to know from media reports that I have been named a recipient of the "Veer Savarkar Award," which is to be presented today in Delhi.
I only learned about this announcement yesterday in Kerala, where I had gone to vote in the local self-government elections.
There in…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 10, 2025 Shashi Tharoor vs Congress?
Though Shashi Tharoor declined to weigh in on Savarkar himself, his decision to reject an honour bearing the ideologue’s name signals a boundary he is not yet willing to cross.
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The Congress MP has been in the news recently for remarks perceived as critical of his own party. Of late, his praise for PM Narendra Modi and his leadership style has been a point of friction within his party. Yet despite the flashes of dissent, he continues to remain firmly within the Congress fold.
According to ANI, the Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025 is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on December 10 at the NDMC Convention Hall. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to inaugurate the event and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is also slated to attend. Tharoor has made it clear he will not participate in the ceremony. |
