‘When Time Comes…’: Shashi Tharoor Breaks Silence Over Cryptic Post Amid Congress Rift

Last Updated:June 28, 2025, 20:33 IST

The Congress leader said that if there were issues to discuss, they would be "discussed privately" and promised to do so when appropriate.

Shashi Tharoor (PTI)

A couple of days after sharing a cryptic bird post, believed to be directed towards the party’s top leadership, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday dismissed to talk about the matter publicly.

The Congress leader said that if there were issues to discuss, they would be “discussed privately" and promised to do so when appropriate.

“I am not going to get into political issues here. If there are issues to discuss, they would be discussed privately, and when the time comes, I shall do so," Tharoor said.

Tensions between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress party emerged after he was chosen by the government to lead an all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, following which his repeated praise of the government and Prime Minister Modi has irked the party.

Amid the buzz, he posted: “Don’t ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one," the post said.

Tharoor’s cryptic post came minutes after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge took a veiled swipe at Tharoor, saying that while the party stood for nation first, “but for some people, Modi is first".

Tharoor’s post prompted a sharp response from Congress leader Manickam Tagore, who, without naming anyone, remarked, “Don’t ask permission to fly. Birds don’t need clearance to rise… But in today even a free bird must watch the skies—hawks, vultures, and ‘eagles’ are always hunting. Freedom isn’t free, especially when the predators wear patriotism as feathers."

Tensions between Tharoor and the Congress high command further escalated after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy in an article for The Hindu, highlighting the PM’s “energy" and “dynamism" as valuable to India’s global influence.

The article was later shared by the Prime Minister’s Office, intensifying speculation about Tharoor’s allegiance.

News politics ‘When Time Comes…’: Shashi Tharoor Breaks Silence Over Cryptic Post Amid Congress Rift