'Don't ask permission to fly': Shashi Tharoor posts cryptic quote after Kharge jibe over Modi praise

A fresh round of unease surfaced within the Congress on Wednesday after senior party leader Shashi Tharoor posted a cryptic message on X hours after being publicly criticised by party president Mallikarjun Kharge. "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours, and the sky belongs to no one,” Tharoor shared a quote, which was widely seen as a veiled response to Kharge's remarks questioning his repeated praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier in the day, Kharge had said: "Shashi Tharoor's language is very good. That is why he has been kept in the Congress Working Committee. I said in Gulbarga that we spoke in one voice, that we stood together for the country. We stood together in Operation Sindoor. We said country first, but some people say that Modi comes first, the country comes later. So, what should we do?"

Kharge's criticism came days after Tharoor referred to Modi as a "prime asset for India." The comment sparked internal backlash, with many party leaders accusing Tharoor of undercutting the Congress line, particularly after he downplayed the UPA-era surgical strikes while praising the Modi government's handling of the situation.

Tharoor led an all-party delegation abroad for India's Operation Sindoor outreach. After returning to India, he along with other delegation leaders met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11.  

Last week, Tharoor acknowledged internal disagreements with his party, saying, "I have some differences of opinion with the party, and I will discuss them inside the party. Today I don't want to speak it. I need to meet and talk, let the time come, and I will discuss it."

Tharoor headed one of the multi-party parliamentary delegations on a foreign tour that included stops in the US, Panama, and now Brazil. The delegation includes MPs such as Tejasvi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Milind Deora, and others.