Shashi Tharoor clarifies on Congress' wealth redistribution plan | The India Story: Road to 2024

Facing an attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor defended the wealth redistribution promise in the party's Lok Sabha poll manifesto.

In a conversation with Editorji's Vikram Chandra, Tharoor pointed out that the Congress is "the party of liberalization" that opened up the economy under Dr. Manmohan Singh.

He argued that "the fruits of that liberalization which accrue to the government in the form of increased revenue must be distributed to those who are being marginalised, left behind or oppressed."

"Those people will, in turn, get a leg up from the state to become participants in the private sector economy. I mean, it's in the interest of everybody," Tharoor said.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who is seeking a fourth term from seat, insisted that the Congress is pro-business, "provided, we are socially responsible in how we spend the resources."

"How do we spend the taxpayers money that accrue to us as revenue from the growing economy is where we differ from the BJP," the Congress leader said.

He accused the BJP of spending the government's money "in ways that benefit a very, very small section of society." He said the Congress wants to spend the taxpayers money "in helping those who have little or nothing, and in giving them an opportunity to participate fully" in the economy.

Tharoor said what the Congress has promised in its manifesto is "social justice."

Editorji caught up with Tharoor on the campaign trail in Thiruvananthapuram, where he is facing Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar and CPI veteran Pannian Raveendran. Kerala will vote in the second phase on April 26.