"Not Leaping To Join BJP": Shashi Tharoor's Sharp Message Amid Speculation

Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said his opinion piece in a prominent English daily this week - on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'energy, dynamism and willingness to engage (with other countries)' post-Operation Sindoor - should not be viewed as him 'leaping to join' the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said the article - which was also shared by the Prime Minister's Office on X, a show of support that has raised eyebrows - was a statement of national unity, and about standing up for India. In the article Mr Tharoor praised Mr Modi as a 'prime asset' for India and called for 'greater support' for the PM.

The Congress MP - whose relationship with his party is on shaky ground over positive comments about Prime Minister Modi, comments that seem at odds with the party's criticism of the Modi government's foreign policy - also said the article only highlighted the success of the Op Sindoor diplomatic outreach.

"It is not a sign of my leaping to join the Prime Minister's party... as some people have, unfortunately, been implying. It is a statement of national unity... national interest... and standing up for India," the four-time Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP said.

Mr Tharoor was one of a handful of opposition MPs picked by the government to take part in a global diplomatic initiative after Op Sindoor, India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Shashi Tharoor meets Narendra Modi after the Op Sindoor delegation returned to India.

Mr Tharoor led the delegation to the United States and four other countries, and returned to India to be debriefed by a friendly Prime Minister, adding to whispers of a switch.

His appointment to that delegation prompted another wave of criticism too, with sections of the Congress calling him a 'super spokesperson' for the BJP's 'publicity stunts'.

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"I did so to serve India... and I am very proud to have the opportunity to do so... believe that political differences should stop at the borders... there is no such thing as a 'BJP foreign policy' or a 'Congress foreign policy', there is only 'Indian foreign policy' and 'Indian national interest'."

"People always tend to see all this in the context of today's news. It is an article in which I describe the success of this outreach mission, which, amongst other things, showcased the unity of all parties behind the matter of vital national interest," Mr Tharoor said.

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"So, I said the PM himself demonstrated dynamism and energy in engaging... he has travelled to more countries than any other PM, and done so to take India's message around the world."

"And, to my mind, what we all did was give his efforts that back-up by bringing to bear the strength of all of India's different political parties, groups, and religions, and convey to the world that India stands united... today against terrorism, tomorrow it could be something else..."

Tharoor's Congress Future

Mr Tharoor's Congress future, many believe, has been under a cloud since 2021, when he joined a group of 'dissenters' - the 'G-23' - senior leaders who questioned the Gandhis' leadership style after successive election defeats. He has acknowledged differences of opinion between himself and the Congress leadership; he even met Rahul Gandhi, but nothing seemed to come of that meeting.

Speaking to NDTV last week, he again played down any friction with the party, calling such incidents "differences of opinion... with only some elements of leadership".

When NDTV asked him how he would define his relationship with the Congress today, he pointed out he had been loyal to the party and its ideology for the last 16 years.

With input from PTI

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