Sign in

Kharge says ‘Modi first for some’ on Tharoor’s article; MP posts cryptic message

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in an op-ed article in a newspaper had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘prime asset for India’ due to his ‘energy, dynamism and willingness

Published on: Jun 25, 2025, 17:32:59 IST
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took a swipe at party MP Shashi Tharoor over his effusive praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the Congress believed in the “country first” but for some, it is “Modi first, country later”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Shashi Tharoor.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Shashi Tharoor.

Tharoor, after returning from a five-nation outreach mission for India’s Operation Sindoor on Pakistan, had praised Modi in an op-ed article in a newspaper, calling him a “prime asset for India” due to his “energy, dynamism and willingness”.

Asked about this at a press conference, Kharge said, “Shashi Tharoor’s language is very good. That is why he has been kept in the Congress Working Committee. I said in Gulbarga that we spoke in one voice, that we stood together for the country. We stood together on Operation Sindoor. We said that country first, but some people say that Modi comes first, country comes later. So, what should we do?”

Soon after Kharge’s remarks, the Thiruvananthapuram MP came up with a cryptic post on X, sharing a picture of a bird with a caption: “Don’t ask permission to fly. The wings are yours and the sky belongs to no one.”

In his op-ed article, he had written, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remains a prime asset for India on the global stage, but deserves greater backing.”

  • Saubhadra Chatterji
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Saubhadra Chatterji

    Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies.

Check India news real-time updates, latest news on Hindustan Times and more across India.