‘Party doesn’t think this way’: Congress distances itself from Shashi Tharoor’s PM Modi remark

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. (File photo)

• Congress distances itself from Tharoor's remark on PM's defeat
• Rao says Tharoor's view is personal, not party's official stance
• BJP praises Tharoor, hopes Congress won't take action against him

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Senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao on Saturday said the party does not agree with Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s reported remark that celebrating the Prime Minister’s defeat is akin to celebrating India’s defeat, stressing that it reflected Tharoor’s personal opinion and not the party’s stand.

The former Rajya Sabha MP said the Congress functions democratically and allows leaders to express differing views. “We have democracy here, so everyone expresses their views. If another party made such statements, there would be swift action, but we have democracy here. This may be his thinking, but the party does not think that way,” Rao said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Rao’s comments came amid political reactions to Tharoor’s reported remarks, which drew praise from the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla welcomed Tharoor’s statement and described it as courageous, while expressing hope that the Congress would not take disciplinary action against him.

“Once again, Shashi Tharoor has shown the courage to show the mirror to Rahul Gandhi for all the propaganda he spreads against India. Dr Tharoor has rightly said that foreign policy does not belong to one party; it belongs to the nation,” Poonawalla said in a post on X. He added that he hoped no action would be taken against Tharoor and accused the Congress leadership of putting family interests above national interests.

Poonawalla also targeted Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, alleging that his criticism of the BJP stemmed from personal and political hostility rather than national interest. He referred to the Congress narrative around Operation Sindoor and accused the party of weakening India’s position on the global stage.

Meanwhile, despite his on-and-off relationship with the party, Tharoor attended the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

In recent weeks, he has drawn attention for skipping some party events and for publicly praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Ramnath Goenka Lecture.

Tharoor had earlier missed the Congress’s ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally in Delhi due to overseas engagements and was absent from a meeting of Congress Lok Sabha MPs chaired by Rahul Gandhi. He recently led a multi-party delegation to global capitals to present India’s position against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism following Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam attack.

The senior Congress leader has also publicly acknowledged Prime Minister Modi’s global outreach on several occasions. In a recent article, Tharoor wrote that Modi’s energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remain a “prime asset” for India on the international stage.