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Shashi Tharoor vs Rajeev Chandrasekhar over Kerala AIIMS promise: 'Smooth-talking, lying type'
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor accused BJP candidates of misleading voters with false promises over location of proposed AIIMS in Kerala.
A war of words has erupted between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar over the location of a proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala. Shashi Tharoor, who secured a fourth term as an MP by defeating Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha elections, asserted that no MP can promise to set up AIIMS in the place of his choice.
In a social media post on X, Tharoor said the central government has accepted the Kerala government's proposal to set up AIIMS in Kozhikode district despite his best efforts to make it happen for Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.
“I stated during the election campaign that no MP can promise to set up an AIIMS in any location of his choice – it depends on what the state government proposes and the central government agrees to,” the Congress leader posted on X.
“Despite my best efforts, and intensive lobbying for an AIIMS in my constituency, I honestly told voters that the state government had opted for Kozhikode and that was the sole choice before the Centre,” he added. “Shame on those BJP candidates who misled voters by promising otherwise!”
Read: Rajeev Chandrasekhar sends legal notice to Shashi Tharoor: 'Malafide intent'
Responding to Tharoor's comment, Chandrasekhar alleged that the Congress MP, who has represented Thiruvananthapuram for 15 years, has kept none of his promises. He claimed that the situation would have been different if it was a BJP MP representing Thiruvananthapuram and he would have fought for it.
Chandrasekhar asserted that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would do more for the people of Thiruvananthapuram in the next five years than Tharoor, whom he described as a "smooth-talking, do-nothing, lying type."
Read: 'Fraudulent allegations': Shashi Tharoor warns Rajeev Chandrasekhar of legal action after notice
In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram seat Rajeev Chandrasekhar had assured that he will make every effort to bring AIIMS to the constituency once elected as the MP. After a neck-and-neck fight, Congress' Shashi Tharoor won the Thiruvananthapuram LS seat against BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar for a record fourth term.
