Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sent shivers down the spine of the opposition camp when he came out in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the main opposition line; which had banked on Pakistani propaganda and questioned the government even after firm response from Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar in the lower house over loose comments made by Doland Trump.
Shashi Tharoor had said, “I honestly don’t think Trump has the slightest idea of what he’s talking about. He has either not been briefed or not understood what Modi was saying or what India’s position is on 3rd-party mediation. That said, MEA should clarify that Delhi has never sought his intercession.”
I honestly don't think Trump has the slightest idea of what he's talking about. He has either not been briefed or not understood what Modi was saying or what India's position is on 3rd-party mediation. That said, MEA should clarify that Delhi has never sought his intercession. https://t.co/DxRpNu6vw2
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 22, 2019
While Shashi Tharoor had supported India’s stand on Kashmir, Congress chief, Rahul Gandhi had come out and instead of calling out the US president Trump for his vacuous comment, questioned the Indian side and took aim at Prime Minister Modi. He had tweeted, “President Trump says PM Modi asked him to mediate between India & Pakistan on Kashmir! If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement. A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & @POTUS”
President Trump says PM Modi asked him to mediate between India & Pakistan on Kashmir!
If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement.
A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & @POTUS
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2019
These comments by Shashi Tharoor surely didn’t go down well with Congress’ top brass which has taken a total 180 degree stand on the issue. So much so that Gulam Nabi Azad, a senior Congress leader staged a walkout in the upper house raking up the issue.
Now as the controversy around Trump’s comments is kept churning, Sanjay Jha, another senior Congress leader in a tweet has seemingly indicated towards the incoherency of voices of Congress leaders in a figurative yet comprehensible way. He tweeted, “Dear Fellow Congress friends, We can’t fight an anaconda with a cobra in the backpack.”
Dear Fellow Congress friends, We can’t fight an anaconda with a cobra in the backpack.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) July 25, 2019
What Sanjay Jha meant by “Cobra in the backpack” can only be clarified by him, however, these comments coming at a time when one senior and popular Congress leader has taken a line contrary to the Gandhi family will sure let people come to different conclusions. In any case, there is a strong possibility of these comments being directed at Shashi Tharoor. Led by Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi, the grand old party has been trying to churn a controversy over which the Indian government has clarified its irrevocable position.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had stated India’s position and also clarified that no request for mediation was made by PM Modi and tweeted, “We have seen @POTUS’s remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate, if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue. No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally.”
…that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally.2/2
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) July 22, 2019
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, in firm response to Congress’ meek attempts had also completely refuted claims made by Donald Trump.
"I would like to categorically assure the House that no such request has been made by PM Modi", says EAM S Jaishankar in #RajyaSabha on Trump's statement that PM Modi had asked him to mediate in Kashmir issue. pic.twitter.com/WolXUQtQEA
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 23, 2019
While for the Congress these messages by the administration were conveniently ignored and efforts to sabotage India’s foreign policy interests continued, and now these comments by Shashi Tharoor are surely being seen as the highest contempt by any Congress leader against the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty; further so Shashi Tharoor’s comments even go against Sonia Gandhi who has been leading the charade and is assumed to be at a sacrosanct position in the Congress. At a time when the entire Congress was aiming to corner the government on a non- issue, Shashi Tharoor defied the dictated line and decided to stand with India’s foreign interests and will surely create hurdles for him in the grand old party.
