Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said his party believed in the “country first” mantra, but it was “(Narendra) Modi first and country later” for “some people”.
It was a jibe directed at the party’s Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor who has been in the party’s line of fire for his open support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government on critical issues.
Responding to a question on Tharoor’s article on Operation Sindoor in which he praised PM Modi, Kharge told media persons: “I can’t read English well. His (Tharoor’s) language is very good. That’s why we have made him a Congress Working Committee member.”
“But I want to say the people of the Opposition together are with the Army that is fighting (during Operation Sindoor). We (the Congress) said the country is supreme and we will work together for the country. We said ‘country first, party later’. Some people say ‘Modi first, country later’. What can we do about that,” he added.
On whether the party was considering action against Tharoor, Kharge said: “People will write as they please. We do not want to bother ourselves about it. Our only target is unity in the country and security of the country. We will keep fighting for the country. We have fought in the past and will fight in the future too. There is no need to pay attention to what anyone says.”
Soon thereafter,Tharoor also shared a post, depicting a bird sitting on a branch. It said: “Don’t ask permission to fly. The wings are yours and the sky belongs to no one…”
The big question is, what next.
The Congress may have sidelined Tharoor but it also does not want to be seen taking any action against the party MP, primarily because of messaging. Clearly, the party wants Tharoor to make the first move, resign if he wants to, so that he does not get the opportunity to play a martyr. The grand old party also does not want to give another handle against it to the BJP
Tharoor, meanwhile, seems to be waiting for the party to make the first move. Whether he actually believes that things will be alright between him and the senior leadership after all what has happened is unlikely
So far as the BJP is concerned, it can certainly hope to benefit by having someone like Tharoor by its side in Kerala—a state where it hopes to make inroads. Whether having Tharoor by its side will help BJP, remains to be seen.
Downplaying the prevailing tensions between him and his party, Tharoor recently admitted to “some differences” of opinion which he said he will discuss when someone from the party approaches him.
Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram MP was conspicuous by absence from the campaign trail in Nilambur while senior party leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, drummed up support for their candidate. When asked by media persons, Tharoor said: “I wasn’t invited to the party. But that’s alright”.
Tensions have been visible between Tharoor and Congress for a long time, but what seems to have really upset the party were his remarks on the 2016 surgical strikes on the foreign soil and the article praising PM Modi. Tharoor was a part of the all-party delegations sent by the Narendra Modi government to convey India’s view point on Operation Sindoor in foreign countries. His total support to the BJP-led Centre was seen as straying from the party line and he was openly criticised by colleagues who called him a “super spokesperson of the BJP”.
