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After 'snub by Rahul' in Kerala, Tharoor says ‘unapologetic’ on Op Sindoor view as he misses key meet on assembly polls
Never violated party line, unapologetic over Operation Sindoor stance, says Shashi Tharoor at literature festival in Kerala as he skipped key party meet
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's absence at key Congress meetings continues to fuel speculation, and this week it's centred around his home state of Kerala, where elections are due soon. Tharoor has now asserted that he remains “unapologetic” about his stances on national security, such as backing the BJP-led central government on its moves against Pakistan, including how Operation Sindoor was carried out.
He said he never violated the party’s stated positions in Parliament, and that his only public disagreement in principle was over Operation Sindoor, reported news agency PTI from Kozhikode and New Delhi.
This statements comes after he skipped a high-level Kerala poll strategy meeting in New Delhi. While the Congress leadership maintained that Tharoor’s absence was due to prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), PTI quoted sources as saying that the four-time MP felt “deeply insulted” by a perceived snub by party leader Rahul Gandhi at a recent event in Kochi.
'India comes first': Tharoor on party, national security
Speaking at the literature festival in Kozhikode during a session on his book on spiritual leader Sree Narayana Guru, Tharoor was asked about his long-standing friction with the Congress leadership. He did not address specific instances, but said he stood by his writings and speeches on advocating a “kinetic response” against terrorist camps following the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir last year.
That response was Operation Sindoor. He said his recommendations for targeted strikes were eventually mirrored by the government's actions.
Tharoor invoked Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous question, “Who lives if India dies?”, to argue that political differences must take a backseat on the country's security issues. "When India is at stake... India comes first," he said, as per the news agency report.
His foreign policy stance has previously drawn sharp criticism from within the Congress for being at variance with the party line, which has sought to hold the BJP regime responsible for lapses in security and the manner in which a ceasefire was reached after Op Sindoor.
In fact, the ceasefire has become an issue linked to trade tariffs imposed by the US on India, with Donald Trump repeatedly demanding credit for the truce even as India denies it acted on his cue.
Tharoor was also criticised by other party leaders for his stance on being part of the multi-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, which went to different countries to put forward India's stance following the Pahalgam terror attack. Prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited nor was the main Opposition party asked to name anyone from its side.
'Kochi snub', Delhi absence
While Tharoor, who is also the working president of the Kerala unit, was in Kozhikode, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a crucial brainstorming session at his residence in Delhi to fine-tune the strategy for the upcoming Kerala assembly election.
The meeting was attended by the party's top brass, including Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, and Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi, besides Sachin Pilot and K J George, plus state unit chief Sunny Joseph along with Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan.
Despite an official explanation that Tharoor had "prior permission" to attend the literary festival, PTI reported that insiders blamed a "tipping point" from a party event held in Kochi on January 19.
During that event, Rahul Gandhi reportedly acknowledged 12 senior leaders by name but not Tharoor, even though the MP was sitting in the same row on the dais. Sources close to Tharoor were quoted as saying by multiple news agencies that he felt “sidelined” despite being one of the three Congress Working Committee (CWC) members from the state.
High-stakes elections ahead
The internal friction persists when Kerala is set for a potential triangular battle in the assembly polls expected by May 2026. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is aiming to unseat the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF, which has held power for a decade.
The BJP-led NDA is also ramping up its campaign. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Thiruvananthapuram, where he made a significant promise to investigate the gold theft case at the Sabarimala temple and jail the culprits if the BJP is voted to power.
At a party rally, Modi slammed both the LDF and UDF for "dangerous politics of appeasement", effectively alleging the alliances have not been giving due attention to issues related to Hindus, and "misgovernance".
Notably, while Tharoor skipped the Delhi party meet, he did attend the Prime Minister's official government event in Thiruvananthapuram where he flagged off some trains.
So far, within the UDF, an understanding was reached that Tharoor would not contest the polls but campaign statewide, PTI reported. But his "unapologetic" assertions and absence from the strategy table highlighted ongoing tensions within the state unit.
On the record, Tharoor's office simply said he had informed the party of his inability to attend the meeting due to his prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.
This is not the first time he has skipped a major party meeting, with at least three similar instances over the past few months. There was apparently a thaw when he spoke for the party in the Lok Sabha during the Vande Mataram discussion in December. But state-level differences, and ongoing friction, appear to have taken precedence for now.
