Shashi Tharoor declined Congress' offer to speak on Operation Sindoor: party sources
Also read: Parliament Monsoon session updates on July 28, 2025
There has been speculation on whether Mr. Tharoor, who led the delegation to the U.S. among other countries, will be picked as a speaker by the Congress, given that his enthusiastic endorsement of the government's action following the terror attack has soured his ties with the party.
Asked whether Mr. Tharoor was asked to speak during the debate, a senior Congress leader said, 'It is a practice that senior leaders are asked whether they are interested in speaking on a major issue. Gaurav Gogoi and K. Suresh had reached out to him and asked if he was interested in speaking during the debate on Operation Sindoor, to which he said he is not interested and would like to speak on the Ports Bill.'
There was no immediate response from Mr. Tharoor on the assertion by the party sources.
'Vow of silence'
Asked whether he would speak in Parliament on Operation Sindoor, the seasoned Lok Sabha MP had earlier quipped to the media that he is on a maun vrat (vow of silence).
Opposition parties have framed their public criticism of the government around alleged intelligence lapses behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 civilians killed, and U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly attacked the government's foreign policy, claiming that India did not receive international support on Operation Sindoor and has cited Mr. Trump's frequent mediation claims to target the ruling alliance. The government has rejected Mr. Trump's claims.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
30 minutes ago
- Hans India
BJP made Op Sindoor a political spectacle; people have lost faith in govt: Shiv Sena(UBT) in Saamana
Shiv Sena(UBT) on Wednesday asserted that the BJP has turned Operation Sindoor into a political spectacle, and that the Hindutva and patriotism of the Bharatiya Janata Party are mere hypocrisy. The party in the editorial of its mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the government was being "ripped to pieces" in the Lok Sabha, and "the Prime Minister was riding a camel and herding goats". In the hard-hitting editorial, the Uddhav Thackeray camp said that while the discussion on 'Operation Sindoor' was going on in the Parliament, the news of the killing of three terrorists in the Kashmir Valley came. "It was said that one of them, Suleman, was the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack. Will anyone believe this now? The people have lost faith in the government. To avoid the bombardment being done by the opposition party in the Parliament on Operation Sindoor, the government is adopting the tactic of fabricating cases like Suleman. The government has been exposed in the Lok Sabha,' it alleged. The editorial referred to MIM founder Asaduddin Owaisi's statement during the debate and asked, 'Can the government go to the homes of the 26 people killed in Pahalgam and tell them that we have taken revenge? Can we watch the India-Pakistan cricket match now?' The Saamana edit went on to state that PM Modi had warned Pakistanis that 'water and blood will not flow together', "but with the grace of Jai Shah, the India-Pakistan cricket match is definitely going to happen. What does Amit Shah have to say on this?" The opposition members, including Gaurav Gogoi, Arvind Sawant, Supriya Sule and Owaisi, raised serious questions over the government's security-related failures in Pahalgam and the outcome of the Operation Sindoor. However, PM Modi, instead of facing the opposition's tirade in the Lok Sabha, was sitting in his chamber, the edit claimed. "The Prime Minister said on social media that Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar had given excellent speeches. So have the 'people in the BJP and his cabinet run out of ink' to praise the opposition leaders?" asked the editorial. "Today's Prime Minister will not even be able to match the stature and authority of former PM Pandit Nehru. Amit Shah was saying, 'We will sacrifice our lives for PoK'. Yogi Adityanath was roaring, 'If Modi becomes Prime Minister for the third time, we will make PoK a part of India within six months'. However, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament, 'Our intention was never to take control of PoK'. Prime Minister Modi said that the Defence Minister's speech was powerful. When the opportunity arose to merge PoK with India, those who said, 'We will die for PoK,' fled the battlefield and went to the cricket field to play with Pakis. This is treason, and such people should be court-martialled," said Thackeray camp in the Saamana. The Thackeray camp said that successful wars were fought in India under the name of 'Operation Vijay', 'Operation Parakram', 'Operation Polo', 'Operation Blue Star', but emotional games like 'Operation Mahadev', 'Operation Sindoor', 'Operation Ganga-Yamuna' started during PM Modi's tenure and the importance of our Army's prowess was reduced. "President Trump says, 'Five jets were shot down in the India-Pakistan war.' Rajnath Singh could not speak on it in Parliament. He gave blunt answers," the editorial mentioned. Thackeray camp further said in the editorial, "It is pitiful when many BJP bhakts praise PM Modi's war strategy. The same Prime Minister, who made the Vice President of the country resign due to ideological differences, could not take the resignation of Amit Shah as the Home Minister after the Pahalgam attack. History will record that all of them got into trouble in the discussion on Operation Sindoor."
New Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Trump says trade deal with India 'not finalised' as August 1 deadline nears
NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump has said the trade deal with India is not finalised, as he stressed that India imposes more tariffs than almost any other country. Trump spoke to reporters on Tuesday on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland and was asked about the trade deal with India. "No, it's not," Trump said when asked if the deal with India is finalised. He was also asked about reports that India is preparing to face higher US tariffs between 20-25 percent, to which he replied, "Ya, I think so." "India has been... they're my friends, and he's my friend," Trump said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "And you know, they ended the war with Pakistan at my request, and that was great. And Pakistan did also... we did a lot of, a lot of great settlements, including the recent one, as you know, with Cambodia," Trump said, again repeating the claim that he stopped the conflict between India and Pakistan through trade. On what he is expecting from the deal with India, he said, "We are going to see. But India has been a good friend. But India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country over the years. But now I'm in charge, and you just can't do that." "I think the trade deals are working out very well, hopefully for everybody but for the United States, they're very, very good," he added.
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Chidambaram attacks Centre over ceasefire after Operation Sindoor
New Delhi Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday lauded India's military leadership during and after Operation Sindoor, but accused the Centre of failing to match its candour, decisiveness, and strategy. Congress MP P Chidambaram speaks during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. (PTI) Participating in the special discussion in Rajya Sabha on Operation Sindoor, the Congress veteran said, 'The Chief of Defence Staff was candid about losses. The Deputy Chief of Army Staff admitted Chinese aircraft and missiles were deployed by Pakistan. If true, China is testing its military hardware in our conflict.' Drawing a parallel with the this transparency with the government's response, he said, 'Where is the strategy? Why has the government not admitted the intelligence and security failures that led to the Pahalgam attack?' The former home minister also questioned why India agreed to do a ceasefire when the operation against Pakistan was successful. Referring to the Bangladesh war of 1971, he said, 'On December 16, 1971, there was a historic victory. General Niazi surrendered to General Jagjit Singh Aurora along with 93,000 soldiers. It was the largest surrender of prisoners of war after World War II. On the contrary, Operation Sindoor ended with a ceasefire. I think the people of India know the difference between a surrender and a ceasefire.' Noting that India was no longer fighting a one-front or a two-front war, he said, 'Pakistan and China were no longer different fronts, but are fused fronts'. He also asked the government whether it has plans to take on a 'fused' front war with Pakistan, China and also some other players. Chidambaram also took aim at United States President Donald Trump's claims of brokering an India-Pakistan ceasefire, alleging that the DGMOs of both nations could not have agreed without political approval. 'President Trump declared the ceasefire. Not even a note of protest from our government,' he said, also citing US actions like steep tariffs, deportations of Indian migrants 'in handcuffs and shackles,' and restrictions on foreign students without any Indian response. Observing that India sent delegations to various countries, Chidambaram wondered why no delegation was sent to neighbouring nations like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives. 'Everyone condemned terrorism and sympathised with terror victims in India after the Pahalgam attack, but no country named and shamed Pakistan,' he said.
