Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Narendra Modi government has failed to fulfill its promises.

Talking to Khaleej Times during his short visit to Abu Dhabi, he said the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi has the experience and will to provide solution to most issues.

The member of parliament from Thiruvananthapuram district also ridiculed the Kerala Chief Minister led politicians for looking abroad to fund vision of New Kerala. He urged them to follow Modi's approach of an international conference of experts to raise funds after 2001 Gujarat earthquake.

The Indian rupee is in a free fall, fuel prices are rising and the stock market is plunging. What is your take on such developments?

A: We are very concerned about the mismanagement of the economy by the BJP government. The government has been trying to portray magic numbers to everybody but the reality is that from the point of view of the ordinary citizen jobs haven't grown, manufacturing is down, exports have reduced and there is terrible stagnation in agriculture, increase in farmer suicides. Meanwhile for the ordinary consumer, prices have been going up. The Indian citizen buying petrol at the pump is paying more and more. And the reason was dramatic increase in excise tax to take revenue for the government. It was a short-sighted policy making because the high fuel prices has a dampening effect on the economy. The government is raking in the taxes but the economy is suffering. The falling rupee may be a good thing for our blue-collared workers in the Gulf as dirham is fetching more rupees in India. So I am happy for the workers in the Gulf but not happy for the average Indian who doesn't work in the Gulf.

The federal government has pegged all of this on external reasons - global markets and not internal - policy matters. What's your view on this?

The question is what is happening internally. In any globalised economy, external factors will have an impact but the question is these people had every advantage available for four-and-half-years. They inherited the economy in good shape and they found it at a time when the world was growing. So it is not as if they were in a position of global crisis like the recession of 2008-09, which affected the UPA government. The BJP government has missed the opportunity to take advantage of favourable macro-economic conditions.

If elected, do you think the Congress can offer solutions to such problems?

Definitely we have people with far greater experience in managing economic problems. This BJP government seems singularly devoid of talent and experience in such matters. Whereas when you look at the number of people from Dr Manmohan Singh onwards, Mr P. Chidambaram, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and half a dozen names you can come up with, who have actually handled economic portfolios in the past and know how to help the economy to recover. When it is a question of who to trust then, a more experienced and qualified Congress leadership will be able to do more for the economy then the inept BJP government we have seen.

What will be the Congress' narrative of a 'New India'?

First thing for us, we want an inclusive India. For the BJP sadly Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (Collective Efforts Inclusive Growth) has only been a slogan without reality. For us, in India it will be a reality. We believe to the marrow of our bones that India is a country for everybody irrespective of creed or caste, that religion is not a factor in determining the worth of a person. And because our ideology in this issue is so different from their's we will ensure that everybody is included. Secondly, we will pay special attention to weaker and marginalised sections of the society. The BJP government has been neglecting Dalits, Adivasi, women and minorities. We feel extending protection to them is in everyone's interest. If you are able to help the poor and the weak, that will give them a leg-up to become consumer themselves and participate in the market. The businesses will then grow as you have a larger consumer base. This is our logic and Congress is capable of implementing it effectively. Finally as other issues of the narrative are concerned, we have been responsible stewards of the Indian adventure. You can be pretty sure that the idea and vision of India will be safe in our hands. That we will concentrate both on the hardware - roads, highways, ports, airports and railways, and the software - human capital, jobs, sanitation, healthcare and education. These are all major priority issues which we believe has been neglected or badly handled by the present government.

Are you surprised by the way Rahul Gandhi has emerged over for the past few months as a potential leader against Narendra Modi?

No, I am not surprised at all. The caricature of Rahul Gandhi in the media was completely unjustified and unfair. This is somebody with far greater intelligence than the travesty of the way in which he was depicted by the media and the BJP. Now that he has been able to flourish on his own terms, where he is seen by the public, he is interacting, campaigning; appearing on more public forums, television and so on. People realise that we have somebody who is very young, energetic and dynamic leader for the Congress party.     

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has invited even Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the mega anti-BJP rally on January 19. How do you see such developments of coalition politics?

We have always understood that the story of Indian elections is a story of 29 different state elections also. It is not that you can have one uniform picture everywhere. The Communists are our biggest critics in Kerala and we are theirs but in Delhi almost on all issues they have been supporting the Congress. At national and state levels, the perspectives can be different.

Do you think mahagathbandhan (grand alliance of anti-BJP parties) can survive for long if it comes to power?

I have seen two successive UPA governments, one with 21 members, I think, and 18 or so members surviving five years each. So it is not as if a coalition will automatically collapse. If there is a strong national party at the centre of it, a coalition can last. The coalitions that have collapsed in the past are the ones where there was no major dominant party. Every party was a small party and one of the big parties was supporting them from outside. The moment the big party pulled its support the government fell. That kind of a situation is not healthy for the country. It would be much better, if we had UPA 3 rather than having Deve Gowda part 3.

What is your vision of a New Kerala?

We should make use of this opportunity to draw more attention to the great successes of Kerala, which is why there was much infrastructure to be destroyed. Then we should try and highlight our strengths. First, we need to revive and invest in our tourist places as it generates jobs like no other business. Second is the wellness industry, which is the growth industry around the world. The global population is aging. There is lot of interest in natural holistic healing techniques like Ayurveda. And third area is the knowledge economy. Industrialists are reluctant to come to Kerala because of their fear of the red flag. We shouldn't expect big factories in Kerala. What we can do is strengthen two or three areas in the knowledge sector like IT, research ecosystem and finally education. We can make Kerala the number one knowledge capital, tourist destination and wellness hub in India.

Kerala politicians led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be abroad, including here in the UAE to raise funds for New Kerala. Do you think this is the right way forward?

I am not impressed with this approach. If their job is to appeal to (NRKs) Malayalis, they have already been giving and given. Otherwise I don't think these ministers have what it takes to speak to foreign government officials and so on in quite the same way. First thing you need is an internationally credible needs assessment, i.e., the UN and World Bank people coming and looking at the damage with expertise and then suggesting not only what damage has been done but also what the needs are so we can rebuild Kerala better. I would have held an international conference that is what Gujarat did in 2001 after the Bhuj earthquake. Mr Modi held an international conference. People came to Gujarat, understood the issues, heard the appeal and $1.7 billion was raised and Bhuj was rebuilt very well. This is what Kerala should have done and I have conveyed this to the chief minister. I am not sure if sending minister abroad will serve the purpose or even the cost of their travel will be recouped. Another difficulty is India is not keen on governmental assistance. So who are these ministers going to see?

The Sabarimala verdict has split people's opinion. What are your views on the subject?

You cannot go against the Supreme Court verdict. Whatever the Supreme Court concludes is the law. I understand the strong sentiments on the part of many people and let's see if their review petition is going to get any attention.