NEW DELHI: Shashi Tharoor not being in sync with his Congress colleagues is no longer news. Especially, if the issue in question pertains to the global stage. So, when senior Congress leader Chidambaram questioned the benefits of Brics for India, Tharoor had an answer. As expected, the answer triggered another round of Tharoor vs Congress debate that overshadowed the BJP broadside against Chidambaram.On Wednesday, Chidambaram questioned the tangible benefits India has gained from recent Brics summits, and said he had not seen any significant outcomes from the last two or three meetings.“I don’t know how many presidents and how many prime ministers are coming. I don’t think the last two or three Brics summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results,” Chidambaram stated. “In fact, we are part of Brics, we are part of SCO, we are part of G20, and we are part of QUAD. What benefits are we getting out of that? I can’t see. In the last two or three summits, I didn’t see any benefits. Earlier, the Brics summits resulted in some tangible benefits,” he added.Chidambaram’s remarks opened the floodgates for counter-attacks from the ruling party. The BJP leaders launched a broadside against Chidambaram and the Congress. What followed was a barrage of attacks ranging from “Dimagi Naxal”, “Naraz Fufas in pain”, “FOMO”, “indigestion”, “bitten by bug” to questions on what Congress had gained in diplomacy since Independence“Is diplomacy to be seen as a transaction like the Congress Party is projecting? What have I done for you? What will you do for me? Kind of an approach. What is the so-called tangible result?” BJP leader Nalin Kohli wondered.Kohli then questioned the Congress party’s own diplomatic record from Independence until 2014. “If we talk of tangible results, we can question what the Congress Party’s entire approach from 1947 right up to 2014 was on diplomacy, including Sharm El Sheikh and projecting Pakistan as literally a victim of terror when it is the perpetrator of terror,” he stated.
Tharoor joins debate
Tharoor then joined the debate and said India holding Brics was a matter of prestige. “Having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of Brics but also some observers coming at presidential and prime ministerial level, is a matter of great prestige for us. It shows a certain diplomatic convening power, which has value in and of itself on the global stage,” Tharoor said.The Congress MP maintained that the Brics Summit is providing an important platform for the Global South.“This grouping, the 11 Brics countries, represents a majority of the world’s population and 41 per cent of global GDP. It’s not a small matter; it’s something that has to be taken very seriously by the rest of the world. Secondly, of course, having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of BRICS but also some observers coming at the presidential and prime ministerial level, this is a matter of great prestige for us,” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.Latching onto Tharoor’s remarks, Nalin Kohli said: “One has noted Dr Shashi Tharoor’s statement, and anyone who understands diplomacy would see great value in the BRICS summit.”BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari also used Tharoor’s remarks to take digs at the Congress and allege that some party leaders were opposing Brics on the instructions of Rahul Gandhi.“Congress exposes Congress! Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says-” BRICS happening in India is a matter of huge prestige for Bharat.” Congress MP exposes “Naraz Fufa” of Congress who were opposing BRICS on instructions of Rahul Gandhi!” Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X.Tharoor has had frosty ties with the Congress over his “independent views” on a range of issues. In the last two years, Tharoor has often made the Congress duck for cover as the BJP has cited his views to school the grand-old-party. The Thiruvananthapuram MP has made several remarks over a wide range of issues – from lessons in nationalism to global diplomacy to the Emergency to Covid-19 vaccine distribution abroad – that have brought more cheers to the BJP than his own party, the Congress.
Tharoor vs Congress
It all started with Tharoor’s surprise “out-of-turn” praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US trip after Donald Trump took oath as president for a second term.Tharoor then acknowledged key achievements from PM Modi’s visit, particularly on trade negotiations and defence cooperation. He welcomed the trade deal discussions and expressed optimism over India’s diplomatic engagements.The Congress immediately issued a clarification, which said that individual opinions do not reflect the party’s official stance. But Tharoor defended his remarks and said: “When someone in the government does the right thing, it should be recognised, irrespective of who’s in power. For 16 years, I have been in politics. My attitude has been that when somebody in the government, whether it’s our government or some other party’s government, does the right thing or does something well, one should acknowledge and praise it, and when they do something badly, one should criticise it. If I were to praise all the time, no one would take me seriously. If I were to criticise all the time, no one would take me seriously either… There’s got to be some give and take in democracy.”After the Pulwama terror attack and Centre’s Operation Sindoor, Tharoor made several remarks that were at variance with the official stand taken by the Congress.Tharoor was picked up to lead a multi-party parliamentary delegation to represent India globally following Operation Sindoor. Later, writing for The Hindu, Tharoor praised Modi’s “energy, dynamism, and willingness to engage” as a major asset for India on the global stage. He described Modi’s multi-alignment strategy as a key pillar in projecting India’s voice globally.At one stage, Tharoor said Modi’s foreign policy was remarkable as the Prime Minister was maintaining excellent relations with Russia while simultaneously pursuing strategic relations with the USA. Modi has raised Bharat as a powerful and independent force and has put forward a policy of “multi-alignment”.In May last year, during the inauguration of the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram, Prime Minister Modi acknowledged the presence of Tharoor on stage and remarked that it would give “sleepless nights” to many in the opposition INDIA bloc.
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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with Tharoor in January this year ahead of assembly elections in Kerala and tried to sort out the differences and project a unified picture.Tharoor has all along defended his remarks and has claimed that his stand on several international issues was “pro-India, and not pro-BJP,” stressing that national interest transcends party lines.Clearly, for Shashi Tharoor, his remarks on Brics are par for the course. It is the Congress that has to decide – how to handle the independent views of its MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
