Congress's Pawan Khera Criticizes Shashi Tharoor's Praise for PM Modi

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Saturday took a sharp dig at party colleague Shashi Tharoor over his "praise" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the Lok Sabha MP's admiration for the PM appeared to have "transcended the limitations of the physical world" and left him capable of hearing things Modi "doesn't even say".

The jibe came after Tharoor defended PM Modi's handling of concerns involving Indian civilian sailors and suggested that the Prime Minister had conveyed India's position on the issue during his interactions with US President Donald Trump.

"PM Modi made his point clear both in the public and private meetings with the President. It is important to convey the message that in wartime, civilian sailors on commercial ships should not be targets of combat. They are not soldiers, and that is the message PM Modi conveyed," Tharoor reportedly said.

Asked about the remarks at a press conference, Khera said he had not seen Tharoor's statement. He, however, pointed out that the official India-US joint statement made no mention of the deaths of three Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman, any challenge to Trump's repeated claims about halting Operation Sindoor, or the attack on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena.

Responding on X, Tharoor said he was surprised that his remarks had sparked a political controversy. "Frankly, I find it extraordinary that a statement about protecting Indian civilian sailors is being twisted into a partisan political controversy. Three Indians lost their lives. My remarks were about the safety of our citizens and the principle that civilian seafarers should never be targets of military action."

He added, "If some people are more interested in scoring political points than addressing that concern, that says more about them than it does about me."

"Concern for Indian lives should unite us, not divide us," the former Union minister asserted.

Khera later escalated his criticism by sharing a clip of his press conference on X. "My senior colleague Dr Shashi Tharoor's admiration for PM Modi appears to have transcended the limitations of the physical world. He now seems capable of hearing what Modi doesn't even say."

Referring to the Ministry of External Affairs' readout of the Modi-Trump meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Khera said there was no mention of the "cold-blooded killing" of three Indian sailors by the United States in the Gulf of Oman.

"This was the first Modi-Trump meeting after Operation Sindoor, yet there is no indication that Modi challenged Trump's repeated claim — now made over 120 times — that he secured a ceasefire by threatening India with trade consequences," Khera said.

He also noted that there was no reference to the attack on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which had participated in MILAN-2026.

"And yet, Tharoor ji somehow heard forceful assertions, robust pushback, and uncompromising diplomacy that never made it into the official record. Perhaps the rest of us are constrained by ordinary human senses. For devotees of the 'Maha-Maanav Modi', the less he says, the more they hear," Khera said.

The BJP also weighed in on the controversy, with national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claiming that Tharoor's remarks were at odds with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's position.

"It is embarrassing. Yesterday was Rahul Gandhi's birthday, but he did not receive any gift. Dr Shashi Tharoor contradicted Rahul Gandhi's stand on the same issue, saying Prime Minister Modi articulated India's position on the sailors' issue very forcefully before President Trump and conveyed the country's stance effectively," Poonawalla said in a video statement.

He further claimed, "Not just that, Tharoor has effusively praised Prime Minister Modi's vision, articulation, dynamism and oratory. He has said Modi has left a stamp on the lives of Indians."

Poonawalla also targeted the Congress over its projection of Rahul Gandhi as a future prime ministerial candidate and claimed that some leaders within the party did not share that view.