The discussion on Operation Sindoor, with which the Congress had hoped to corner the government, backfired on it this evening as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ripped into the party. During his reply to the discussion, PM Modi not only brought up the burden of history and the deeds of previous Congress governments, but also piled on jibes about the current strains within the party.
Speaking of the all-party teams delegated for the Operation Sindoor outreach, PM Modi spoke of “some (being) stopped from speaking in parliament” and “those who consider themselves the sons of Congress become unhappy if you praise India” — seen as transparent references to Shashi Tharoor’s disagreements with a section of the party, which generated many a headline.
Mr Tharoor — a career diplomat who served with the UN before he turned to politics — was not picked by his party for the all-party delegations the Centre was sending abroad.
But the government snapped him up to lead the delegation to the US and a few other nations – adding fuel to the ongoing Congress-vs BJP over Operation Sindoor.
While the Congress did not stop Mr Tharoor from going, it had accelerated the party’s souring relationship with him, especially after his enthusiastic endorsement of the government on the matter.
Ahead of the discussion on Operation Sindoor in parliament, there was much speculation about whether he would be allowed to speak. He was not.
Sources had said the Thiruvananthapuram MP was asked by the party if he was interested in speaking during the debate, but he had declined.
Former Union Minister and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari – another Op Sindoor ambassador who was also benched along with Mr Tharoor – provided a hint on X earlier today.
“Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada, main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon, Bharat ka rehne waala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon. Jai Hind,” his post had read.
Asked about the post, he had said, “There is a saying in English, ‘If you don’t understand my silence, you will never understand my words’.”
