Alappuzha, Sunday 21 June 2009: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said that he was given the ticket to contest the elections and later appointed a Minister not on the basis of his caste or religion, but considering his capabilities.

He was answering question of presspersons here on Saturday on the reported remarks of the Nair Service Society (NSS) that the Nair community had been sidelined while selecting Union Ministers.

Dr. Tharoor said he did not believe that he was chosen as a candidate from Thiruvananthapuram based on his caste or religion. The Congress was a secular party and candidates and Ministers were chosen on the basis of their capabilities, he said adding that he, however, was proud to be a Nair.

Politicians require help and support from all communities. The NSS and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam had helped him in the elections and he was grateful to all sections of society for electing him Thiruvananthapuram MP.

Dr. Tharoor said he had called upon Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan in his house at Kanichukulangara here on Saturday to convey his gratitude for the support extended by the organisation to him during the elections. He had met Bishops and other community leaders. “I believe I will get a chance soon to do the same with the NSS leaders as well,” he said.