New Delhi: The Donald Trump-Zohran Mamdani meeting received fulsome praise from Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Friday, and the Thiruvanthapuram MP’s remarks got a stamp of approval from the BJP, with a barb at Rahul Gandhi.
“This is how democracy should work,” Tharoor wrote about the much-anticipated Oval Office interaction between the US President and Indian-origin New York City mayor-elect, in a post on X. “Fight passionately for your point of view in elections, with no rhetorical holds barred. But once it’s over, and the people have spoken, learn to cooperate with each other in the common interests of the nation you are both pledged to serve. I would love to see more of this in India — and am trying to do my part.”
Hours later, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla put up a post on X lauding Tharoor’s words.
“Once again Shashi Tharoor reminds Congress to put India First not Parivar. To behave democratically and not like sore losers. But will Rahul Gandhi get the message? One more Fatwa loading against Shashi??? (sic),” he wrote.
For the past several months, relations between Tharoor and his own party have been icy. It all started after India carried out Operation Sindoor in response to the 22 April Pahalgam attack. Many in the Congress did not like his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government.
It continued as Tharoor was chosen by the Modi government to head an international outreach delegation post-Operation Sindoor. Tharoor accepting the government offer was viewed by many in the Congress as a breach of party discipline. His name was not in the list the Congress had given to the government to represent the party in the delegations.
Earlier this month, he again ruffled feathers with his comments on dynastic politics and the remark that “the influence of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty… has cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright”.
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