As BJP gloats over Tharoor’s ‘egg on face’ comment, Congress digests it in silence
While keeping everybody guessing with his peculiar political stance, Tharoor has clearly defied Congress’s order to keep his candid views to himself
Shashi Tharoor has done it again. After being silent for a month following a muzzle order from the Congress high command, he has once again waxed eloquent about the apparent astuteness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — this time on the Ukraine policy.
While his peculiar political stance has kept everybody guessing, his latest “egg on my face” remark has given the BJP a fresh chance to gloat as the Congress licks its wounds in silence.
What Tharoor said
During an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi on Tuesday (March 18), the senior Congress leader and former diplomat said his criticism of India’s stance when Russia attacked Ukraine and his call for condemnation of the aggression had left him with “egg on [his] face”.
The former minister of state for external affairs said the policy meant that “India actually has a prime minister who can hug both the president of Ukraine and the president in Moscow two weeks apart and be accepted in both places”. Speaking at the session titled Waging Peace: Looking Back to Look Ahead, Tharoor added, “I am still wiping the egg off my face….”
Also read: In defence of Shashi Tharoor: 'His praise for govt reflects intellectual generosity, not betrayal'
BJP on cloud nine
Needless to say, the BJP was delighted at his remarks. BJP leader Sambit Patra said the Congress should appreciate Tharoor’s stand. “Shashi Tharoor understands diplomacy, he had been with the UN for a very long time. He has appreciated PM Modi’s stand in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Other leaders of the Congress should also learn from Shashi Tharoor instead of speaking against PM Modi and the nation every time... Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi should come forward and appreciate Tharoor’s stand,” he told reporters.
News agency ANI quoted senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad as saying, “Better late than never... The way Shashi Tharoor has admitted, other leaders of Congress should do the same.”
Kerala BJP chief K Surendran posted on X, “Dear Shashi Tharoor ji, I’ve always admired your candor. Your honesty in saying ‘I opposed it initially’ and now praising Modiplomacy’s success on Russia-Ukraine is commendable. Unlike your Congress peers, you see India’s global rise under PM Narendra Modi ji, truly a refreshing take (sic)!”
Also read: Shashi Tharoor posts selfie with Union minister amid growing rift with Congress
No effect of Congress diktat
Tharoor raised hackles within his party last month when he praised Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump and their statements at a joint press conference “encouraging”. During that same time, he also sang paeans in the praise of the LDF government in Kerala, leaving the Opposition, Congress-led UDF, red-faced.
Following these and other embarrassing incidents, the Congress high command in Delhi called a meeting of party leaders from Kerala where Tharoor was reportedly told in no uncertain terms that he was not to express his candid views openly in public. While rumours spread thick and fast that Tharoor might be jumping ship to the BJP, the flamboyant Thiruvananthapuram MP dismissed those.
And yet, he is back with his “candid view”, saying “India is in a position to make a difference to lasting peace” thanks to Modi’s diplomacy. Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Tharoor reaffirmed his stand.