‘Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours’: Tharoor posts after Kharge’s snub

New Delhi: The Congress leader Shashi Tharoor posted on X a message with a bird’s photograph in what is believed to be a reply to his party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

‘Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one,’ the Thiruvananthapuram MP said in the message that came with the image of a bird.

Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at Tharoor for his praise for PM Modi, saying that ‘country first for us, but for some people, it's Modi first'.

The Congress leadership has not been happy with Tharoor’s statements following Operation Sindoor and his subsequent inclusion in the delegation that visited several countries to put across India’s stand against terrorism.

Tharoor has since frequently been in the zapper of the party’s disdain with some leaders openly criticizing him.

Kharge’s criticism seems to be the strongest of all targeting the party’s most popular leader with a large fan following.

Writing in The Hindu newspaper, Tharoor said that Prime Minister Modi's energy, dynamism and willingness to engage is a ‘prime asset’ for India in international relations, which deserved backing.

Tharoor’s remarks left the Congress leadership fuming, thus further widening the rift between them.

While the Congress is targeting the government, Tharoor is not voicing the party's narrative.

Referring to his article, Tharoor later said that it was not a sign of his ‘leaping to join’ the BJP but termed it a statement of national unity.

The Congress party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told media that Tharoor’s remarks were not the opinion of the Congress party, adding ‘It is not the Congress's view since we have presented our views with evidence and proof’.