Ex-KPCC chief Sudhakaran slams Congress excluding Tharoor from ‘Operation Sindoor' list, calls it an ‘insult'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former KPCC chief K Sudhakaran on Thursday questioned the party's decision to exclude the name of Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, from the list of persons to lead the Centre's delegations on 'Operation Sindoor' and said it was akin to "insulting" him.
Sudhakaran said that Tharoor was a competent leader and a loyal member of the party and therefore, in his view, it was not right to sideline the Thiruvananthapuram MP.
"All this was an unnecessary controversy is what I feel," he told a TV channel here.
Tharoor recently accepted the Centre's invite to lead a multi-party delegation abroad to put across India's stand against Pakistan on terrorism, even though he was not there in the list of names given by the party for the purpose.
He had defended his decision saying he saw no politics in the matter.
The Congress had nominated former Union Minister Anand Sharma, the party's Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar after the government asked for the names of four MPs for the delegations.
However, the government entrusted Tharoor with the task of leading one of the delegations, allegedly ignoring the Congress list.
Sudhakaran, also an MP, said that there were some rumours that Tharoor might leave the party, but they were not true.
"I spoke to him. I believe he won't leave the party," the former chief of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Concerning precedent continues': Kharge urges PM Modi to begin process to elect Lok Sabha deputy speaker
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently initiate the process of electing a deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, underlining the ongoing delay in the matter despite constitutional provisions for it. In a letter to PM Modi, Kharge pointed out that each Lok Sabha, from the first to the sixteenth, had seen the appointment of a deputy speaker in both Houses of Parliament, adding that it had also been a 'well-established convention' to appoint the person from among the members of the principal Opposition party. 'However, for the first time in independent India's history, this position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms. No Deputy Speaker was elected during the Seventeenth Lok Sabha and this concerning precedent continues in the ongoing Eighteenth Lok Sabha,' Kharge pointed out. Terming it a highly concerning matter, Kharge underlined that Article 93 of the Constitution mandates the election of both the speaker and the deputy speaker of the House of the people. Constitutionally, he added, the deputy speaker is the second-highest presiding officer of the House after the speaker, with Article 93 of the Constitution providing for an appointment to the post. My letter to PM Shri @narendramodi on the urgency to initiate the process of electing a Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha without any further delay. From the First to the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, every House has had a Deputy Speaker. By and large, it has been a well-established… — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 10, 2025 'The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be,' Kharge said, quoting the provisions under the section. With regard to the election of the deputy speaker, he added, Article 93 stipulates that the House shall choose one 'as soon as may be'. He added that traditionally, the deputy speaker has been elected in the second or third session of a newly constituted Lok Sabha. 'The procedure for this election mirrors that of the Speaker, with the only distinction being that the date for the Deputy Speaker's election is fixed by the Speaker, as per Rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha,' Kharge said. A vacancy on the post did 'not augur well for India's democratic polity and is also in violation of well laid out provisions of the Constitution', Kharge added, urging PM Modi to initiate the process without any further delay, keeping with the traditions of the House and the democratic ethos of Parliament. Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. Over the last 15 years, he has covered bureaucracy & politics, crime, traffic & intelligence, the Election Commission of India & Urban Development among other beats. He is an English (Literature) graduate from Zakir Husain Delhi College, DU & specialised in Print at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. He tweets @jatinpaul ... Read More
Hans India
19 minutes ago
- Hans India
Post vacant for two LS terms: Kharge writes to PM Modi, seeks Dy Speaker election
New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to initiate the election process for the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, noting that the post has remained vacant for two consecutive terms -- a first in Independent India's parliamentary history. Sharing his letter on X, Kharge highlighted that Article 93 of the Constitution mandates the election of both a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha. He said the failure to fill the post during the 17th Lok Sabha and its continued vacancy in the 18th term "does not augur well for India's democratic polity" and also violates constitutional principles and undermines democratic tradition. "From the First to the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, every House has had a Deputy Speaker. By and large, it has been a well-established convention to appoint the Deputy Speaker from among the members of the principal opposition party," Kharge wrote, calling the current situation a "concerning precedent". In his letter, Kharge stressed: "The Deputy Speaker is the second-highest presiding officer of the House. This position remaining vacant weakens the democratic structure and is also against the well-laid-out provisions of the Constitution." He quoted Article 93, which states, "The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker... and so often as the office becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member." Kharge also referred to Rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, which gives the Speaker the power to fix the date for the Deputy Speaker's election. The last person to hold the Deputy Speaker post was M. Thambi Durai of the AIADMK, who served during the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019). Calling on the Prime Minister to act without further delay, Kharge urged: "In view of the foregoing and in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the House and the democratic ethos of our Parliament, I request you to initiate the process of electing a Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha." The Deputy Speaker plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth conduct of business in the absence of the Speaker, with equal authority to manage debates, maintain order, and decide on procedural matters.
The Hindu
24 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Initiate process of electing Lok Sabha deputy Speaker: Mallikarjun Kharge to PM Modi
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to initiate the process of electing a deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Keeping the position vacant "does not augur well for India's democratic polity and is also in violation of well laid out provisions of the Constitution," the Congress chief said. "Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to bring to your kind attention the highly concerning matter in regard to the prevailing vis-í -vis the vacancy of the deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha. "Article 93 of the Constitution of India mandates the election of both the speaker and the deputy speaker of the House of the People. Constitutionally, the deputy speaker is the second-highest presiding officer of the House after the speaker," he said. Mr. Kharge said traditionally, the deputy Speaker has been elected in the second or third session of a newly constituted Lok Sabha. The procedure for this election mirrors that of the speaker, with the only distinction being that the date for the deputy speaker's election is fixed by the speaker, as per Rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, he noted. In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Kharge noted that from the first to the sixteenth Lok Sabha, every House has had a deputy speaker. By and large, it has been a well-established convention to appoint the deputy speaker from among the members of the principal opposition party, he said. "However, for the first time in independent India's history, this position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms. No deputy speaker was elected during the seventeenth Lok Sabha, and this concerning precedent continues in the ongoing eighteenth Lok Sabha," Mr. Kharge said. "This does not augur well for India's democratic polity and is also in violation of well laid out provisions of the Constitution," the Congress chief said. "In view of the foregoing and in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the House and the democratic ethos of our Parliament, I request your good self to initiate the process of electing a deputy speaker of Lok Sabha without any further delay," he asserted Kharge's demand comes ahead of Parliament's Monsoon session of Parliament starting from July 21.
