Parliament Monsoon: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor declined his party's request to speak on the 'Operation Sindoor' debate in Parliament on Monday, preferring instead to discuss 'The Indian Ports Bill, 2025'. This comes amid speculation that his ties with the party are strained after he praised the government's response to a recent terror attack
Shashi Tharoor. File Pic
The Congress party asked its Member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, if he was interested in speaking during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament, but he declined. Instead, he expressed a desire to speak on The Indian Ports Bill, 2025, according to party sources on Monday, reported news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, there has been intense speculation regarding whether Tharoor, who led the delegation to the US among other countries, would be selected as a speaker by the Congress. This follows his enthusiastic endorsement of the government’s actions after the recent terror attack, which has reportedly strained his ties with the party.
When asked whether Tharoor had been approached to speak during the debate, a senior Congress functionary told PTI, "It is standard practice that senior leaders are asked whether they are interested in speaking on a major issue. Gaurav Gogoi and K. Suresh had reached out to him and asked if he was interested in speaking during the debate on Operation Sindoor, to which he stated he was not interested and would prefer to speak on the ports bill."
However, there was no immediate response from Tharoor regarding the assertion made by the party sources. Earlier, when questioned by the media about speaking in Parliament on Operation Sindoor, the seasoned Lok Sabha MP had quipped that he was on a "maun vrat" (vow of silence).
According to PTI, the first week of disruption in Parliament’s Monsoon session is set to give way to a fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and on Operation Sindoor from Monday afternoon. Both the ruling alliance and the Opposition are preparing for a fierce confrontation over these two issues, which are deeply steeped in national security and foreign policy imperatives.
The BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition parties are expected to field their top spokespersons during the discussions in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have framed their public criticism of the government around alleged intelligence lapses leading to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, and US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly criticised the government’s foreign policy, asserting that India did not receive international support for Operation Sindoor and has frequently cited Trump’s mediation claims to target the ruling alliance. The Indian government, however, has consistently rejected Trump’s assertions.
(With inputs from PTI)
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