In Shashi Tharoor vs Congress, Now A "Birds Of Prey" Retort

Shashi Tharoor's journey with the Congress is becoming more awkward with each passing day. A day after Mr Tharoor put up a post on birds, ostensibly sending a message to his critics within the Congress, a party MP has hit back with a 'birds of prey' retort.

Hours after a snub from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his recent praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Tharoor yesterday posted a bird's photograph with a message. "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one," read the message that was seen as his response to detractors within the Congress.

Today, Congress MP M Manickam Tagore, seen as close to the party leadership, posted what seemed like a message to Mr Tharoor. "Don't ask permission to fly. Birds don't need clearance to rise... But in today even a free bird must watch the skies-hawks, vultures, and 'eagles' are always hunting. Freedom isn't free, especially when the predators wear patriotism as feathers," he said.

Don't ask permission to fly. Birds don't need clearance to rise…
But in today even a free bird must watch the skies—hawks, vultures, and ‘eagles' are always hunting.
Freedom isn't free, especially when the predators wear patriotism as feathers. 🦅🕊️ #DemocracyInDanger… pic.twitter.com/k4bNe8kwhR

— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) June 26, 2025

The post featured six predatory birds: Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, American Kestrel, Turkey Vulture and Great Horned Owl.

The 'predator' reference is unmissable amid a buzz on whether Mr Tharoor would exit the Congress amid the widening rift and switch to the BJP, leaders of which have been praising him for a while. The former diplomat, who has a gift of the gab and a vocabulary that makes headlines, has trashed such speculation. Days back, amid the chatter over his praise for the Prime Minister in a newspaper article, Mr Tharoor had said he had only described the success of India's global outreach in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and India's counterstrike Operation Sindoor. The praise, he said, is "not a sign of my leaping to join the prime minister's party (the BJP) as some people unfortunately have been implying".

Mr Tharoor has been articulating the Indian position in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre after the Pahalgam attack, later changed tack and asked the government to come clean on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the US played in it. Mr Tharoor's remarks, some of them endorsing the government's response, did not sit well with the Congress leadership.

What widened the rift was the government choosing Mr Tharoor to lead one of the Indian delegations travelling abroad to convey New Delhi's stern message on terror. The Congress had not pushed Mr Tharoor's name for the delegation despite his experience as a diplomat.

During his trip as head of the delegation, Congress leaders kept firing barbs at Mr Tharoor, prompting a response in which he said he had no time for this. Yesterday, in what was seen as the strongest snub at Mr Tharoor from the Congress leadership, Mr Kharge said it's "country first for us, but for some people, it's Modi first".

"I can't read English well. His language is very good. That's why we have made him a Congress Working Committee member," the Congress president said. He added that in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 innocents dead, the whole Opposition said it stands with the Army. "We said the country comes first, party later. Some people feel 'Modi first, country later'. What can we do?"