'Spoke As An Indian': Shashi Tharoor After Congress' Warning Over Remarks On India-Pakistan Conflict
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While speaking to the reporters, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that he expressed his comments as an 'Indian and as a proud citizen.'
Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday clarified his stance on supporting the Centre's move in the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict saying that the remarks were made in a personal capacity, and did not reflect the official stand of the grand-old party.
While speaking to the reporters, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that he expressed his comments as an 'Indian and as a proud citizen."
'People seem to think that I have some of the knowledge, so they come and ask my views. But I have made it very clear, sometimes explicitly and sometimes implicitly, that I am expressing my personal views as an Indian and as a proud citizen," he said as reported by news agency PTI.
VIDEO | Here's what Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) said on party leader Jairam Ramesh's 'not opinion of Congress' remark.'He is absolutely correct. I have made it very clear that I am not a spokesperson of party, I am not a spokesperson of the government, either.… pic.twitter.com/gmjk1u3YmV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2025
When asked about section of leaders feeling that he had crossed 'Lakshman Rekha" by deviating from the Congress' official stand on Operation Sindoor and subsequent ceasefire announcement, he said that he was not ware of any such discussion during the CWC meeting.
'I don't know where this comes from. I was at a closed door meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). I was there till 6.35pm for the meeting that began at 4.30pm. And I must say that at that time, there was certainly no reference to any of this and no reference to me. If something happened thereafter, I am yet to be informed about it. So when I am informed, I will react to it," he said.
The Congress MP's clarification came after it was reported that during the CWC meeting on Wednesday, some leaders asserted that Tharoor crossed ' Lakshman Rekha ' for his comments. Lakshman Rekha, a metaphor originating in Ramayana, loosely means 'boundary", the news agency reported citing the sources.
During the Congress Working Committee meeting, which was held to discuss the situation following ceasefire announcement and related developments, including US President Donald Trump announcing the cessation of the conflict between India and Pakistan, Ramesh referred to Tharoor's statements that were in deviance with party line, news agency PTI reported.
Reportedly, in the meeting, Tharoor was advised to not to air individual views but amplify the party's official stand.
The opposition, which backed the Centre in its action against cross-border linkages in the Pahalgam terror attack, has now questioned the government on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the US played in it. The opposition has been requesting an all-party meeting to question the government regarding Trump's claims that his administration helped broker a 'ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.
However, the Thiruvananthapuram MP came out in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has handled it 'extremely well".
First Published:
May 15, 2025, 17:52 IST
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