Netizens lobby to get Tharoor back as minister
After his resignation, his followers on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Orkut have begun campaigns demanding his return.
There’s a strong wave of support swelling up in favour of former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor.
After his resignation, his followers on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Orkut have begun campaigns demanding his return.
Calling Tharoor “the face of Indian politics that the young generation wants to see”, most of his followers, mainly comprising Malayalis from India and the Gulf, claim he is one of the “most capable ministers”.
A group of youngsters has been also circulating an online petition seeking Tharoor’s return. They have initiated a signature campaign which they plan to submit to president Pratibha Patil.
“We need politicians like him. The media was never interested in his work. All they like is gossip and controversies. India was, is and will always be a country run by old men with old thoughts,” wrote Nivedita Nair, one of Tharoor’s supporters, on Facebook.
Anupam Agarwal, an engineer and one of the 6,000 supporters of the Shashi Tharoor fan club on Orkut, wrote: “If we continue to lose well-read and knowledgeable leaders, who choose to come back home, then God save us from the abyss of Indian politics.”
A tweet from an Indian in Bahrain read: “Life is about ups and downs. You have to bounce back... because we need professionals like you to lead the country. All the best.”
Another Tharoor follower Ramaswamy Iyer has started online petition ‘We want Mr Shashi Tharoor back’. He plans to submit the petition to the president once it garners sufficient signatures.
A website, www.supporttharoor.org, has been also lobbying to collect “pledges” from netizens since Sunday.
By late Monday afternoon, its message board was flooded with nearly 1,700 pledges.