Congress believes in India first but some put PM Modi first: Kharge on Shashi Tharoor article

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Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that while his party believed in putting India first, 'some people' placed Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the country.
Kharge's comment at a press conference came in response to a question about an article written by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
Tharoor, who headed a parliamentary delegation for the diplomatic outreach undertaken by the Union government following the Pahalgam terror attack and the four-day conflict with Pakistan, had praised Modi's approach in an article in The Hindu on Monday.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP described Modi's 'energy, dynamism and willingness to engage' as a 'prime asset' for India on the world stage, adding that the prime minister deserved more support.
The Congress has repeatedly accused the Union government of weakening Indian diplomacy and leaving the country 'isolated' globally.
When asked about Tharoor's article at the press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Kharge said: 'I can't read English well. His [Tharoor's] language is very good. That's why we have made him a Congress Working Committee member.'
Opposition parties had supported the Indian military during Operation Sindoor, said the Congress chief.
'We said that the country is supreme and we will work together for the country,' Kharge said. 'We said 'country first, party later'. Some people say 'Modi first, country later'. What can we do about that?'
When asked what action the Congress could possibly take against Tharoor, Kharge said that 'people will write as they please'.
'We do not want to bother ourselves about it,' Kharge added. 'Our only target is unity in the country and security of the country. We will keep fighting for the country…There is no need to pay attention to what anyone says.'
The Congress had distanced itself from Tharoor's remarks on Tuesday, saying that it was his personal view and did not reflect the party's stand.
'That may be his [Tharoor's] opinion but that is not the Congress party's view,' The Hindu quoted Supriya Shrinate, who heads the Congress' social media unit, as having told reporters. 'It is not the Congress view since we have presented our views with evidence and proof.'
Hours after Kharge's remarks on Wednesday, Tharoor posted an image of a bird on social media platform X, with the caption: 'Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one.'
pic.twitter.com/dNkwZb721E
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 25, 2025
The diplomatic outreach by the Indian government came in the aftermath of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which left 26 dead, and the subsequent Indian military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what New Delhi claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed.
On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an 'understanding' to halt firing following a four-day conflict.