Congress slams Tharoor for showing ‘admiration’ for Modi; MP says statement given ‘partisan twist’
The Congress on Saturday (June 20, 2026) slammed party leader Shashi Tharoor over his “admiration” for Narendra Modi, saying it appears to have transcended the
The Congress on Saturday (June 20, 2026) slammed party leader Shashi Tharoor over his “admiration” for Narendra Modi, saying it appears to have transcended the physical world as he now seems capable of hearing what the Prime Minister never even said. Tharoor, the party's Thiruvananthapuram MP, however, said he found it extraordinary that a statement about protecting Indian civilian sailors was given a partisan twist. The row was sparked by Mr. Tharoor's reported remarks that “PM Modi made his point clear both in the public and private meetings with the president.” He reportedly said, “It is important to convey the message that in wartime, civilian sailors on commercial ships should not be targets of combat. They are not soldiers, and that is the message PM Modi conveyed.” Asked about the comments, Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said at a press conference that he had not seen Mr. Tharoor's statement but he had also not seen in the India-U.S. joint statement a mention of the killing of three Indian sailors by the United States in the Gulf of Oman, challenging of Mr. Trump's repeated claim on halting Operation Sindoor, and the attack on Iranian frigate IRIS Dena. Tharoor on X responded, “Frankly, I find it extraordinary that a statement about protecting Indian civilian sailors is being twisted into a partisan political controversy. Three Indians lost their lives. My remarks were about the safety of our citizens and the principle that civilian seafarers should never be targets of military action.” If some people are more interested in scoring political points than addressing that concern, that says more about them than it does about me, he said.
Concern for Indian lives should unite us, not divide us, the former Union Minister asserted. Later, tagging a video clip of his own remarks at the presser, Mr. Khera on X said, “My senior colleague Dr Shashi Tharoor's admiration for PM Modi appears to have transcended the limitations of the physical world. He now seems capable of hearing what Modi doesn't even say.” Mr. Khera said that according to the official MEA readout of the Modi-Trump meeting on the sidelines of the G7, there was no mention of the “cold-blooded killing” of three Indian sailors by the United States in the Gulf of Oman. “This was the first Modi-Trump meeting after Operation Sindoor, yet there is no indication that Modi challenged Trump's repeated claim – now made over 120 times – that he secured a ceasefire by threatening India with trade consequences,” the Congress leader said. Khera added that there was also no mention of the attack on Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, India's guest during MILAN-2026, in what is effectively India’s strategic backyard. “And yet, Tharoor ji somehow heard forceful assertions, robust pushback, and uncompromising diplomacy that never made it into the official record. Perhaps the rest of us are constrained by ordinary human senses. For devotees of the ‘Maha-Maanav Modi’, the less he says, the more they hear,” Mr. Khera said, in a scathing attack on the fellow party member. Later, in an apparent reference to Mr. Khera, Mr. Tharoor on X said, “For those who believe I ‘heard’ words that @narendramodi never said at the G-7, I was merely alluding to widely published reports about his remarks.
The BriefWire