‘No longer one of us’: Congress leader says Shashi Tharoor won’t be invited to party programmes in Thiruvananthapuram

Amid speculations about Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s growing affinity with BJP, senior party leader K Muraleedharan said that the veteran politician is not one of them anymore and won’t be invited to any party programmes in Thiruvananthapuram. This comes amid Tharoor’s support for the way the government dealt with the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and the subsequent military action against Pakistan. 

"Till he (Tharoor) changes his stance, we will not invite him to any party programme held in Thiruvananthapuram. He is not with us, so there is no question of him boycotting an event," said K Muraleedharan about his party colleague and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member. 

Tharoor had earlier acknowledged that he had received a lot of criticism over his stand supporting the government over the issue of national security. He was also part of the all-party delegations sent to various countries for an outreach after Operation Sindoor. 

Over the weekend, Tharoor had also said that nation comes first and the parties are the means of making the country better. “Which is your first loyalty? To my mind, the nation comes first.  Parties are a means of making the nation better.  So, to my mind, whichever party you belong to, the objective of the party is to create a better India in its own way,” said the Congress MP AT an event in Kochi on Saturday

“I will stand my ground, because I believe this is the right thing for the country,” said Tharoor, adding that it is important to respect your own party but more so to “cooperate with other parties in the interests of national security”. Sometimes the party might consider a member disloyal for this, he said.

Muraleedharan had also earlier hit out at Tharoor after the MP shared a survey suggesting he was UDF’s most preferred choice for Chief Minister. “He should first decide which party he belongs to,” said Muraleedharan. 

Shashi Tharoor has attracted attention within political circles for taking positions that align with the BJP's national security stance. He stated that India conducted surgical strikes after 2014, a point that has been widely discussed.

Tharoor also rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that Washington played a role in stopping the war with Pakistan. This stance contrasts with the Congress party's criticism of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.

The Congress has accused the government of stopping the war under pressure, with Rahul Gandhi asserting that the Prime Minister yielded to external influence. Last month, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge made a pointed remark seen as a critique of Tharoor, saying, "The Congress believes in putting the country first. But for some, it is Modi first and country later."

Tharoor had also recently written an article in a Malayalam daily criticising Indira Gandhi over the Emergency.