The media has always found it difficult to report on Shashi Tharoor. His high educational qualifications, long years of experience in the international diplomatic scene and flair for speaking means he has made criticising the opposition into a fine art.
He can sometimes be what the media likes to label as "pro-BJP" or "pro-Congress" in the same speech, depending on which part you focus on.
The result is a confused mess, more indicative of the reporter's personal bias than what Tharoor actually said.
Hard as it seems to grasp for those sent to document his innumerable utterances, he rarely descends to the stark "I am right on everything, my opponent is wrong on everything" mantra that is the standard position of nearly all politicians (and some editors) nowadays.
After all, in a civilized debate, while you may have disagreements with your opponent, you do not write off every single thing they do, opposing the good along with the bad.
This is something that Tharoor practices in an age where we routinely see leaders holding even the development of the nation to ransom to make minor political points.
The side effect of these sorts of polished arguments is that unless you are prepared to be really bland (or go really long) with your headlines, it is difficult to encompass all the various sidelines Tharoor touches upon. So what usually happens is endless hand-wringing over headlines the next day.
The latest being Tharoor's remarks at a launch of a book about Modi's foreign policy. In keeping with that spirit of reaching across the aisle, Tharoor not only attended, but also debated the larger points of that policy.
