Shashi Tharoor (born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician and a former diplomat who is currently serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala since 2009. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. • Political Career He was previously Minister of State in the Government of India for External Affairs (2009–2010) and Human Resource Development (2012–2014). He is a member of the Indian National Congress and served as an official spokesperson for the party from January to October 2014. Until 2007, he was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon Political Career He was previously Minister of State in the Government of India for External Affairs (2009–2010) and Human Resource Development (2012–2014). He is a member of the Indian National Congress and served as an official spokesperson for the party from January to October 2014. Until 2007, he was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon Controversies • In September 2009, Tharoor and S. M. Krishna were accused of staying in luxurious 5-star hotels.Tharoor said it was because of the delayed readiness of his official residence and that he had paid out of his own pocket for the accommodation. Later, on Pranab Mukherjee's request, Tharoor and Krishna moved out of the hotels. • A controversy erupted when Tharoor, responding to the question as to whether he would travel in "Cattle class", replied that he would "out of solidarity with all our holy cows". This remark on Twitter (@ShashiTharoor), was alleged to equate the travelling public to cattle and taunt his party, the Indian National Congress over its austerity drive. Tharoor's explanation that "cattle class" was a well-established phrase for economy class travel, and that it attacked the airlines and not the passengers, was ignored in the outcry. It was also reported that Congress may take action against him.However, this was subsequently resolved when the prime minister pointed out to the media that the statement was "a joke". • Another controversy involved Gandhi Jayanti when he said people should be working rather than staying at home taking a holiday, thereby paying real homage to Mahatma Gandhi, who had said "work is worship". • Tharoor was in the news again for publicly criticising the new visa guidelines adopted by the Indian government in the wake of the gaps exposed by the arrest of 26/11 terror suspects, David Headley and Tahawwur Rana. For this he was criticised for breaking ranks with the official position of the government. He later met External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, and explained his position on the issue. The rules were subsequently partly modified. • In January 2010, Tharoor criticised Nehru for his conduct of Indian foreign policy in remarks that were distorted by the Indian media. The critique angered his party, the Indian National Congress. In the wake of this controversy, he held a press conference describing the report as "inaccurate" and "tendentious".