Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday firmly announced that he would neither accept an award named after VD Savarkar nor participate in the event associated with it. His refusal came amid criticism from within his own party, with leaders asserting that no Congress member should accept an honour in Savarkar’s name.
Tharoor clarified that he had never agreed to receive the “Veer Savarkar Award”, and called it “highly irresponsible” for the organisers to publicise his name without his approval. Speaking to reporters, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he only learned about the award on Tuesday and had no intention of attending the ceremony.
“It was announced without my consent. I will not go, nor will I accept the award,” Tharoor said, stressing that there were no details available regarding the organisation behind the award, its purpose, or the nature of the recognition.
Earlier, Congress leader K. Muraleedharan had publicly stated that no Congress representative should accept an award named after Savarkar, whom he accused of “bowing before the British.” He also expressed confidence that Tharoor would never accept such a recognition, as it would “embarrass the party.”
Following Tharoor’s clear statement, the Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS) India — the organisation behind the award — responded by claiming that Tharoor had been informed well in advance. Aji Krishnan, secretary of HRDS India, said their representatives had personally visited Tharoor to invite him and that he had requested a list of co-awardees.
“We shared the list with him. He has not informed us officially that he won’t attend. Maybe he is under pressure since Congress has turned it into an issue,” Krishnan alleged.
Kerala Law Minister P. Rajeev weighed in, saying that accepting or rejecting the award was Tharoor’s personal choice.
The award in question — the inaugural Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025 — was scheduled to be presented in New Delhi. Tharoor reiterated that even when he travelled to Kerala to vote in the local body elections, he only knew of the award from media reports and had immediately clarified that he had not accepted anything.
In a post on social media platform X, Tharoor wrote:
“Without clear information about the award, the organisers, or the context, there is no question of my attending or accepting it.”
He further criticised the continued speculation, stating that several media outlets were still asking him about the matter despite his earlier clarifications. Tharoor concluded that he was issuing a public statement to ensure “absolute clarity.”