Sometimes parties feel you're being disloyal: Shashi Tharoor's nation first message

India Today

20-07-2025

Amid ongoing speculation about a rift with the Congress leadership, senior party leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday asserted that political parties must cooperate with each other in the interest of national security. Speaking at an event in Kochi on 'Peace, Harmony and National Development', Tharoor said that the nation must come first, and parties are merely vehicles to build a better country.advertisement"Which is your first loyalty? To my mind, the nation comes first. Parties are a means of making the nation better. So, to my mind, whichever party you belong to, the objective of the party is to create a better India in its own way. Now, parties have every right to disagree about the best way of doing that," he said. The Congress MP also addressed the recent criticism he has faced for supporting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over its handling of Operation Sindoor and matters related to national defence.
"A lot of people have been very critical of me because of the stand I have taken, supporting our armed forces and our government, and what happened recently in our country and our borders. But I will stand my ground, because I believe this is the right thing for the country," he said.Responding to a student's question about his relationship with the Congress leadership, Tharoor said, "When people like me say that we respect our parties, we have certain values and convictions that keep us in our parties, but we need to cooperate with other parties in the interest of national security. Sometimes the parties feel that is disloyal to them. That becomes a big problem."He added that politics, in any democracy, is inevitably about competition, but that should not come in the way of working together during critical times."Inclusive development has been my theme throughout my 16 years in politics and I believe in inclusiveness and in development. I also believe in national security and national interest," Tharoor said.Tharoor later told reporters that "nation first" has always been his guiding philosophy. "I came back to India only to serve the nation in whatever way I can, through and outside politics," he said, adding, "I have tried to do that."The Congress leader also addressed speculation about internal party tensions following his appointment to lead an all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor."While I have been steering clear of such political discussions in public, I felt a student deserved a response," Tharoor said in a post on X, where he also shared a video of the interaction.advertisementHe reiterated his belief that political parties should not hesitate to join hands in moments of national importance. Quoting former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Tharoor said, "Who lives if India dies?" and urged political actors to put aside differences when the nation is at risk.Tharoor has recently drawn criticism from within his party for an article in which he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "energy" and "dynamism" in global diplomacy. The article was later shared by the Prime Minister's Office, fuelling further speculation about Tharoor's ties with the Congress high command.- EndsMust Watch