Kozhikode: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has started his tour of Malabar amid reports that there exists an undeclared ban on his district tours by which he apparently aims to consolidate his position in Kerala politics.

Tharoor, who was so far “sidelined” by the state party leadership, started his tour by visiting litterateur M T Vasudevan Nair on Sunday morning. He will tour Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur districts in the next four days.

"Certain people asked me to warm the reserve bench, but I want to play as a forward. I wish to move on by taking everything in sportsman spirit," Tharoor told Manorama News as he appeared for the ‘Footbolam’ programme that was telecast as a curtain-raiser for the FIFA World Cup.

DCC kept in the dark?
Meanwhile, the Kozhikode District Congress Committee (DCC) has come out with its explanation after reports surfaced that it was not informed of the tour.

DCC president Praveen Kumar told the media that M K Raghavan, MP, had informed the party district committee about the visit of Tharoor. Some have apprehensions over reports that the visit is part of factional activities, and hence the Youth Congress backed out from associating with it, he said.

However, the Youth Congress explained that Tharoor was not conducting the tour in accordance with the party organizational programmes, and hence it decided to back out from the seminar to which he was invited. Youth Congress district president R Shehin told the media that the decision was conveyed to the DCC also.

The Kannur DCC and the Youth Congress Kozhikode District Committee, have backed out from the functions to which Tharoor was invited as the chief guest. The organizers are now planning to conduct both the programmes without the support of the party.

Tour itinerary
Tharoor is meeting a host of leaders and other prominent people in the society during the four-day Malabar tour. He called on Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil of the Thamarassery Diocese on Saturday.

The Congress leader will reach Panakkad on November 22, where he will hold talks with Indian Union Muslim League State president Panakkad Syed Sdiqali Thangal and national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty.

He is also the chief guest for the Mannam Jayanti celebrations being held at the NSS headquarters in January.

Raghavan, who openly supported Tharoor in the Congress presidential elections, is coordinating the tour. Raghavan is in a spot as not all Congress leaders from Kozhikode who signed the nomination papers of Tharoor in the presidential elections do not support the new move.

Meanwhile, Youth Congress vice president K S Sabarinathan has come out in support of Tharoor.

At a time when the open statements of Rahul Gandhi against Savarkar inspire the party, why such actions (discriminating against Tharoor) here, asked Sabarinathan.