Shashi Tharoor's subtle reaction amid uneasiness over praise for PM Modi's speech

Shashi Tharoor

Amid uneasiness over Shashi Tharoor praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent speech at the sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, the Congress MP on Tuesday expressed his subtle disapproval of those labelling his actions as "betrayal".

The Thiruvananthapuram MP reacted to an X user who lamented how opposition leaders are targeted for merely attending an event addressed by the Prime Minister, saying there cannot be a strong opposition by "locking MPs in a bubble".

"Imagine demanding @ShashiTharoor be ‘kicked out’ because he attends an event or hears the PM speak. That’s not betrayal — that’s literally how parliamentary democracy works. You don’t build a strong opposition by locking MPs in a bubble. Tharoor is doing his job. Sit down," the user said on X.

The Congress MP reacted to the post with a thumbs up emoticon.

The user further said that some people want opposition MPs to behave like "fan clubs" and never show up to any such event. "... but democracy isn’t a group project where you block the guy who does all the reading," the user said.

Attended PM @narendramodi’s #RamnathGoenkaLecture at the invitation of @IndianExpress last night. He spoke of India's "constructive impatience" for development and strongly pushed for a post-colonial mindset. The PM emphasized that India is no longer just an 'emerging market'… pic.twitter.com/97HwGgQ67N

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 18, 2025

The exchange comes a day after Tharoor faced some backlash on X for attending the event and praising PM Modi's speech.

He said he was "glad to have been in the audience despite battling a bad cold and cough!". "PM Modi said he had been accused of being in 'election mode' all the time… but he was really in an 'emotional mode' to redress the problems of the people," Tharoor said, recalling the speech of the Prime Minister.

Though Congress did not officially comment on Tharoor's presence at the event, some users on X reacted strongly to his remarks. Some users wondered even questioned his loyalty towards the Congress party.

Tharoor's repeated public praises of Modi have sparked unease and criticism within the Congress, exacerbating tensions amid ongoing speculation about his loyalty to the party.