Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 24: Even as the Congress distanced itself from the Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor’s high praises for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the senior party leader underscored on Tuesday that terming Mr Modi’s “energy and dynamism as an asset for India,” should not be viewed as a sign of his “leaping to join” the Prime Minister’s party.
Defending his article on Operation Sindoor’s global outreach in a publication, Mr Tharoor said it was only a “statement of national unity.”
Heaping praise on Modi, Mr Tharoor in his news article said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remains a prime asset for India on the global stage, but deserves greater backing.” He also described Operation Sindoor as “a moment of national resolve,” emphasising the value of unity as a nation and of public diplomacy.
Commenting on his article, the Congress said it was “his personal view and doesn’t reflect the party ‘s views.” The party reiterated that the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy has completely “fallen flat.” “That may be his [Mr Tharoor’s] opinion but that is not the Congress party’s view. It is not the Congress view since we have presented our views with evidence and proof,” Supriya Shrinate, who heads the Congress’ social media department, told reporters.
Mr Tharoor led one of the seven Indian delegations to put forth the nation’s stance on terrorism and brief them about Operation Sindoor. His delegation visited Panama, Guyana, Colombia, Brazil, and lastly the United States. However, his remarks were seen as a likely attempt to irk his Congress party and are expected to form cracks on already tense ties.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP was asked about his article at an event in Moscow and he responded saying, “It is not a sign of my leaping to join the prime minister’s party (the BJP) as some people unfortunately have been implying. It is a statement of national unity, of national interest and of standing up for India, which to my mind is fundamentally why I came back to India after 25 years of service at the UN.”
Leading the delegation on Operation Sindoor, Mr Tharoor said, was to “serve India.” “I am very proud to have the opportunity to do so,” he added. The Congress leader further clarified that while he did praise the Prime Minister, the article was written about Operation Sindoor. He noted that people always tend to see all this in the context of today’s news.
“It is an article in which I describe the success of this outreach mission, which, amongst other things, showcased the unity of all parties behind the matter of vital national interest,” Tharoor said.
“So, I said the prime minister himself has demonstrated dynamism and energy in engaging with other countries. He has travelled to more countries than any prime minister, and done so in order to take the message of India around the world,” he added.
The Congress leader said according to him, members from various parties came together to give PM Modi’s efforts a “backup” by bringing to bear the strength of all of India’s different political parties and groups, “and convey to the world that a message that a united India stands for.”
“Today it is a message against terrorism, tomorrow it could be a message on something else, but that backing up, I believe, is very important,” he said. He agreed with the expression that Americans use to say that political; differences should stop at the water’s edge. “I, too, have believed for the longest time that political differences in our democracy should stop at the borders. For us, it seems to me there is really no such thing as a BJP foreign policy or a Congress foreign policy, there is only Indian foreign policy and Indian national interest,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor added that he had not said anything new, in fact, he had said the same thing many years ago. “I said this publicly, on the record, the very first time when I became the chairman of the External Affairs committee back in 2014,” he said. Tharoor’s article on Operation Sindoor was also shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office on X.
But Mr Tharoor’s praise of PM Modi gained significance against the backdrop of an irked Congress, which has been continuously attacking the Modi government over its foreign policy. However, Mr Tharoor has maintained that the Congress, its values, and its workers were “very dear” to him.
Ms Shrinate, however, said the reality of India’s foreign policy was that the U.S. had issued a travel advisory of Level 2 and advised its women, especially, not to travel alone to India, citing various cases of rapes. “It also goes on to say that various kinds of crimes, incidents of violence and terror attacks can happen in India. It very categorically mentions that American officials will need permission from the government before their travel to India… This kind of advisory is being issued for India, which will have far-reaching impact on our standing,” she said.
Ms Shrinate said such an advisory “maligns” the country and urged the government to register its protest and take up the matter at the highest level. “However, nothing of this kind of advisory has been issued for Pakistan, which is a terror country, housing terrorists such as Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim, etc., they are being provided protection by Pakistan. On the contrary, an advisory is being issued against us while Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir is being invited to enjoy a meal with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has, in turn, hyphenated India and Pakistan,” she added.
The Congress leader said it was highly objectionable that the Indian Prime Minister and Pakistan’s Army Chief were being hyphenated. “From enforceable hugs to ‘Howdy Modi’, ‘Namaste Trump’, and ‘Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar’, to going to the U.S. uninvited. He has done everything possible, and look at what America is doing to us,” she said.
“At a time when we need large nations of the world to stand with us, America is issuing travel advisories against us and citing incidents that pertain to the rest of the world. But this really maligns us, and what is the government doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Pin drop silence like always,” Ms Shrinate added.