Shashi Tharoor hails Rajagopalachari bust at Rashtrapati Bhavan: 'Was a strong supporter of Rajaji's Swatantra Party'

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

• Bust of C Rajagopalachari unveiled at Rashtrapati Bhavan
• Tharoor praises Rajaji's liberal and constitutional values
• Rajaji Utsav exhibition to be held from Feb 24 to Mar 1, 2026

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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has welcomed the unveiling of a bust of freedom fighter and statesman C Rajagopalachari at Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying the former Governor-General’s liberal and constitutional values remain deeply relevant but are followed by “very few” today.

In a post on X, the Congress MP shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on the move and said, “I’m truly pleased to see Rajaji honoured by a statue at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He was its first Indian occupant as the only Indian Governor-General of India, before we became a Republic and he yielded his seat to the new President.”

I’m truly pleased to see Rajaji honoured by a statue at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He was its first Indian occupant as the only Indian Governor-General of India, before we became a Republic and he yielded his seat to the new President.

I have long admired his convictions and was a… https://t.co/exNBJ0IFIN — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 23, 2026

Tharoor said he always admired Rajaji’s convictions and was a strong supporter of his Swatantra Party in his student days. “His set of values and principles — liberal economics and support for free enterprise, combined with social justice; strong anchoring in Indian civilization and religious faith but without a shred of communal bigotry; and a staunch faith in the rights & freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including keeping the government out of our kitchens, bedrooms and libraries — remain mine to this day,” he said.

According to Tharoor, it is sad that now there are so few left to follow Rajagopalachari.

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday unveiled the bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first and only Indian Governor General of Independent India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The bust of Rajagopalachari, at the Grand Open Staircase near Ashok Mandap opposite to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, replaced the bust of Edwin Lutyens.

This initiative is part of a series of steps being taken towards shedding "the vestiges of the colonial mindset".

The Prime Minister in his "Mann Ki Baat" address on Sunday, said that the unveiling of bust of Rajaji is one of the steps towards removing vestiges of the colonial mindset. The exhibition on the life and work of Rajaji will be organised as part of Rajaji Utsav from February 24 to March 1, 2026, at Amrit Udyan.