Tharoor not to attend RSS-linked HRDS event

Thiruvananthapuram: Ending all speculations to rest, Congress leader and Trivandrum MP Shashi Tharoor has decided to skip the event where he was supposed to be one of the awardees of Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025 in New Delhi.

Earlier, the High-range Rural Development Society (HRDS India), an RSS-linked NGO, has named Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as one of the six recipients of the Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025 in New Delhi.

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This led to widespread speculations that the Congress leader could join the BJP and thereby leading to a widespread debate in social media where CPM and BJP cyber handlers were seen attacking the Congress supporters.

“We hope that Shashi Tharoor will not attend the event”, said senior Congress leader K Muralidharan.

Tharoor distances himself from the HRDS event

However, responding to news of his selection, Shashi Tharoor clarified that he would not be part of the event. “I am not getting anything. I just heard about it yesterday and I am not going,” the Congress leader said on X, distancing himself from the award and the ceremony.

In a letter addressed to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, HRDS India said the award recognises individuals and institutions whose work reflects the ideals associated with Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, including “nationalism, self-reliance, moral courage, and social transformation.” The NGO described the award as a tribute to Savarkar’s life, especially his sacrifices during imprisonment at the Cellular Jail and his contributions to India’s freedom struggle.

Each awardee is to receive ₹1,00,000, along with a certificate and memento. The ceremony is scheduled for December 10 at the NDMC Convention Hall in New Delhi, where the awards will be presented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The invitation highlighted Tharoor’s long career in public life, including his nearly three decades at the United Nations, where he rose to the rank of Under-Secretary-General and later contested for the role of Secretary-General in 2006. It also praised his parliamentary work and his contributions as an author and thought leader.

The HRDS, which works among rural and tribal communities according to its website, has been in the news earlier for employing the key accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh and later terminating her.