Admiration or Misinterpretation? Tharoor's Modi Remarks Trigger Congress Backlash

A war of words has erupted within the Congress party after senior leader Shashi Tharoor came under attack from his own colleagues over remarks seen as praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of a sensitive maritime issue.

The controversy began after the Thiruvananthapuram MP reportedly said that Modi had conveyed a clear message about the need to protect civilian sailors during discussions linked to recent developments in the Gulf of Oman . Tharoor's comments referred to the deaths of three Indian seafarers , stressing that civilians working on commercial vessels should never become targets during military conflicts.

The remarks triggered a sharp reaction from Congress media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera , who questioned whether Modi had actually raised the issue as forcefully as Tharoor suggested. Khera pointed out that the official readout of Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit did not mention several key concerns, including the deaths of the Indian sailors, Trump's repeated claims about helping secure a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor , and the attack on Iranian frigate IRIS Dena .

In a pointed social media post, Khera sarcastically remarked that Tharoor seemed capable of hearing statements that were never officially recorded, suggesting that the Congress MP was attributing diplomatic positions to Modi that did not appear in the official account of the meeting.

Responding to the criticism, Tharoor defended his remarks and accused critics of giving them a partisan political twist . He stressed that his comments were solely about the safety of Indian citizens and the principle that civilian sailors should never be targeted during military operations.

The former Union minister later clarified that his observations were based on widely published media reports about Modi's remarks at the G7 Outreach Session in France. He maintained that he had merely summarized publicly available information and had not distorted any facts.

The controversy also drew the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into the debate. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Tharoor's remarks contradicted the position often taken by Rahul Gandhi , highlighting what he described as growing differences within the Congress.

The episode has once again spotlighted Tharoor's independent political positioning , which has frequently generated debate within his party and fuelled speculation about internal differences in the opposition camp.