A big fight broke out in the Congress party when K. Muraleedharan, a top leader in Kerala, yelled at party MP Shashi Tharoor, saying that the Thiruvananthapuram MP is “not one of us anymore.” This comment comes just a few days after Tharoor said in public that he is loyal to the country and not to any political party.
It was made clear by Muraleedharan that Tharoor would not be allowed to attend any more Congress events in Thiruvananthapuram unless he “changes his mind.” While Muraleedharan said, “He is not a part of our team anymore,” he left it up to the party\’s leadership to decide if Tharoor should be punished.
Country First or Party Betrayal?
The trouble started when Tharoor said that Jawaharlal Nehru asked, “Who lives if India dies?” in answer to a question about loyalty at an event in Kochi. He said that his main loyalty is to India and not to any one political party. People took this comment, made right after a terror attack in Pahalgam, as an indirect support for how the Center was handling national security.
There were some Congress figures, mostly in Kerala, who saw this as giving in to the BJP and breaking party rules. Many people pointed out that Tharoor often went against the party\’s official line, which made the criticism worse.
The public fight has put Congress in a tough spot
This isn\’t the first time Tharoor has had a disagreement with someone in his own party. Over the years, he has said things that have made people wonder: he has defended parts of Britain\’s colonial legacy, spoken out against Indira Gandhi\’s Emergency, and even said that he would be willing to work with people from other parties on some topics.
Tharoor is a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), but he often presents himself as a liberal, independent leader, which makes him unpopular with Congress\’s more traditional groups.
What Lies Ahead?
Should it allow ideological diversity or strictly police party discipline? Tharoor is very popular with English-speaking voters in cities, which makes him a useful asset. But his public differences are seen as hurting party unity more and more.
Now that the AICC has the ball, everyone is waiting to see if the leadership will punish Tharoor or try to make peace. This event could change Tharoor\’s future in the Congress, or it could change the future of alternative politics in India as a whole.
