New Delhi: The uneasy relationship between senior Congress chief Shashi Tharoor and his celebration management got here into focus once more on Saturday when Congress chief and AICC communications director Pawan Khera got here below contemporary criticism, describing the Thiruvananthapuram MP as a follower of “Maha Maanav Modi” over his feedback on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the deaths of three Indian sailors in an assault on a US ship.
The rant resurfaced the Congress management’s obvious displeasure with Tharoor praising the Modi authorities on points associated to international coverage and nationwide safety.
“My senior colleague Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s admiration for PM Modi appears to transcend the bounds of the bodily world. He now appears to have the ability to hear what PM Modi just isn’t saying,” Khera wrote to X.
“One way or the other Mr. Tarosi heard the forceful claims, the fierce pushback, and the uncompromising diplomacy, however it by no means made it into the official document.”
He additional added, “Maybe the remainder of us are constrained by odd human sensibilities. For the followers of ‘Maha Maanav Modi’, the much less he says, the extra they hear.”
My senior Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s admiration for Prime Minister Modi appears to transcend the bounds of the bodily world. He now appears to have the ability to hear what PM Modi just isn’t saying.
In line with an official MEA assertion, relating to the assembly between Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the assembly… pic.twitter.com/6U7BFRxAgZ
— Pawankhera 🇮🇳 पवन खेरा (@Pawankhera) June 20, 2026
Previous to Khera’s feedback, Tharoor had accused his critics of turning humanitarian points into political debates.
“Frankly, I discover it uncommon {that a} assertion on the safety of Indian civilian seafarers could be twisted right into a partisan political debate,” he wrote.
“Three Indians misplaced their lives. My remarks have been in regards to the security of our folks and the precept that civilian seafarers ought to by no means be the targets of army motion. If there are people who find themselves extra considering scoring political factors than addressing these considerations, that claims extra about them than it does about me.”
“Concern for Indian lives ought to unite us, not divide us,” he added.
Frankly, I discover it uncommon that India’s assertion on the safety of civilian seafarers is twisted right into a partisan political debate.
Three Indians misplaced their lives. My remarks have been about public security and the ideas that civilian seafarers ought to observe.
— Shachi Tharoor (@ShachiTharoor) June 20, 2026
The alternate between Khera and Tharoor follows remarks made by the Thiruvananthapuram MP earlier this week.
“Relating to Indian seafarers, the prime minister was fairly forceful in his public speeches and in personal that folks want to know that there are seafarers on every kind of ships. It is not Indian ships, however there are a lot of Indian crews and seafarers on ships of different nationalities as properly. So long as they’re civilians working business ships, they shouldn’t be handled like combatants in a conflict,” Tharoor mentioned. P.T.I..
The US attacked three service provider ships earlier this month.Maribex, Settebello and Jarvia— after they allegedly disobeyed directions from the U.S. army and violated the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
The middle mentioned it had contacted U.S. authorities and expressed its considerations in regards to the airstrikes. India additionally summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks over the assault on Palau’s flagship island. Settebello Three Indians have been killed within the incident.
Additionally learn: Can the US legally assault service provider ships? Tanker assault places legislation of maritime armed battle to the check
“The distinction stays.”
Tensions between Tharoor and different Congress leaders have been evident for a while.
The lawmaker, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Exterior Affairs, had earlier been chosen by the Middle to steer a multiparty abroad delegation to elucidate India’s stand on terrorism and Operation Sindoor after Pakistan-linked terrorists opened hearth on vacationers in Pahalgam final yr, killing 26 folks.
Throughout the outreach, a few of Tharoor’s feedback praising the federal government’s diplomatic response to the problem drew large criticism from inside Congress and referred to as into query his standing throughout the celebration. He was additionally a member of the G23, a gaggle of celebration leaders who search reform and strengthening of celebration democracy.
Sources mentioned the Congress excessive command and Tharoor had met a number of occasions up to now few months to debate discrepancies between the MP’s public statements and the celebration’s official line on the Modi authorities’s international coverage.
Nonetheless, these discussions haven’t produced any breakthroughs. “The problem has been mentioned many occasions, however variations stay,” a senior celebration official advised ThePrint.
One other official mentioned, “The management has not decided relating to Mr. Tharoor’s case.”
Congress leaders had beforehand publicly distanced their celebration from Tharoor’s feedback.
In Might final yr, Congress basic secretary Jairam Ramesh had clarified that Tharoor’s observations through the Centre’s diplomatic mission after Operation Sindoor mirrored his private views and never the celebration’s official place.
“When Mr. Shashi Tharoor speaks, it’s his opinion and mustn’t at all times be presumed to be the opinion of the Congress,” Ramesh mentioned.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Additionally learn: ‘Shield our sovereignty from bullies’ – Congress hits again at Modi authorities over assault on US ship that kills three Indians
