Amid reports of tensions with the Congress leadership, Shashi Tharoor said political parties may differ, but when the country’s security is at stake, India must come first.
BY PC Bureau
January 24, 2026: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he has never deviated from the Congress party’s stated positions in Parliament, asserting that his only public disagreement on principle was over Operation Sindoor, on which he remains “unapologetic.”
Speaking during a session at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode, Tharoor addressed questions about reports suggesting differences with the party leadership. He said his stance on Operation Sindoor was taken in the national interest and did not amount to a breach of party discipline.
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STORY | Never violated party line, unapologetic over Operation Sindoor stance: Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he has never violated the party’s stated positions in Parliament, asserting that his only public disagreement in principle was over Operation… https://t.co/O0xSCfwRcN
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 24, 2026
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Explaining his position, Tharoor said that following the Pahalgam incident, he had written a newspaper column arguing that the attack should not go unpunished and that India should respond with a limited kinetic action. He added that while India must remain focused on development, it should avoid being drawn into a prolonged conflict with Pakistan, restricting any military response to terrorist infrastructure.
“To my surprise, the government did exactly what I had suggested,” he said.
Quoting India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Tharoor recalled the question, “Who lives if India dies?” He added, “When India is at stake—when its security and its place in the world are involved—India comes first.” Political parties may differ as part of a healthy democracy, he said, but national interest must always prevail.
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Tharoor also referred to earlier instances of political disagreement, recalling that when the BJP came to power in 2014, there were reports that RSS ideologue Govindacharya was drafting a new Constitution. “Yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later declared that the Constitution was his holy book,” he said, underscoring how political narratives can evolve.
ater talking to mediapersons, Tharoor said, “Whatever I wanted to say, I have told the party leadership. It is not right that I discuss this publicly. The media might say several things-some might be right, some might be wrong. I had informed the party leadership earlier that I wouldn’t attend; it’s not possible to cancel this now, and it’s not easy to come back from Delhi to Kozhikode. What I had to say, I will say inside the party. The media is saying I am upset—I won’t say a word about it. I wished to release this book. I had to miss the Jaipur Literary Festival once for political programs. I didn’t want to miss this literary festival too-that is why I came here.”
His remarks come amid speculation about strains between Tharoor and the Congress leadership, fuelled by his absence from a meeting of Kerala Congress leaders with the AICC high command on Friday. The meeting, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, focused on preparations for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections and included senior leaders such as K.C. Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Ramesh Chennithala, V.D. Satheesan, and several MPs.
Tharoor did not attend the meeting despite being invited. Sources said he was in Kozhikode for a prior commitment at the literature festival and had informed the party of his inability to attend. However, reports have suggested he was displeased over what was perceived as a snub by Rahul Gandhi at a recent Congress event in Kochi, where other leaders were acknowledged on stage but he was not.
Neither Tharoor nor the party leadership has publicly commented on the speculation, even as the Congress has called on its leaders in Kerala to present a united front ahead of the state polls.
