Tharoor open to a role in govt

NEW ROLE: Tharoor is set to become a corporate citizen working as a consultant for an investment company.

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New York: Shashi Tharoor spent the last day as UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information on March 31.

On his first day post-UN life, CNN-IBN correspondent, Anirudh Bhattacharyya caught up with Tharoor in New York for an exclusive interview to talk about step next in his life.

Tharoor was a private citizen after nearly 29 years at the United Nations. Just five months after he lost the race to become Secretary General of the UN, Tharoor had a strong opinion of his victorious opponent Ban ki Moon's tenure so far.

“I think he himself would admit there have been some missteps early on, particularly some of his restructuring proposals and some of his initial statements did create a certain amount of misgiving. But, you know, everyone has to learn on the job. Mr Ban is a decent man, somebody who has gone in, after all, with solid backing in the Security Council and the General Assembly. And I think we need to give him time to get it all right,” Tharoor says.

Tharoor was in his UN office on April 1, clearing out. There had been rumors of his becoming a Union Minister in India or a diplomatic posting abroad. Tharoor however, says he would be open to a future role in government.

“The speculation was not unreasonable because it's the sort of thing I'd like to think I have demonstrated I can make a contribution to. I have not discussed either of these possibilities with the Government of India nor have they been offered to me. I think it's certainly something I'd like to bear in mind as a contribution I can make in the longer term,” says Tharoor.

For now, Tharoor is set to become a corporate citizen, working as a consultant for an Indian investment company based in Dubai, and a private equity firm in New York.

Tharoor will also continue writing. His next book is a collection of essays on India called The Elephant, The Tiger and The Cellphone and it is due to be out in September.