"I'm Not Allergic To Ambanis And Adanis": Shashi Tharoor To NDTV

"The real Congress says, and Mr [Ashok] Gehlot has said it, that if somebody is willing to come and invest in my state, create jobs, bring up revenue, of course I want it," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told NDTV at a townhall in Mumbai

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today echoed what his party colleague and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on industrialist Gautam Adani's announcement to invest Rs 65,000 crore in the northern state over the next five years.

Mr Gehlot had welcomed Mr Adani, Asia's richest man, at the Invest Rajasthan Summit earlier this week, where the industrialist announced his group's business plans in the state.

Mr Tharoor, at an NDTV exclusive townhall in Mumbai on Sunday on the Congress President election, was asked a question by the audience on his take on India's economic development. The questions also alluded to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's frequent attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegedly helping on big businessmen.

Mr Tharoor replied, "The real Congress says, and Mr Gehlot has said it, that if somebody is willing to come and invest in my state, create jobs, bring up revenue, of course I want it. That was my attitude when Mr Adani bid for the airport in Thiruvananthapuram. He won fair and square and we should cooperate with him. And that's certainly what happened in my own constituency."