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The Print
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
India must be ‘circumspect', rules-based order has collapsed—Manish Tewari on Iran conflict
What complicates the situation for India, he said, is unlike during the Cold War era, New Delhi has no Soviet Union to fall back upon, while Chinese influence has grown over the past decade, especially since Xi Jinping took over as president of the neighbouring country. In an interview to ThePrint, Tewari, who serves as general secretary of the Congress party's foreign affairs department, said India must also tread carefully due to what he called a 'new dynamic' developing between the US, Pakistan and China. 'I think we need to be extremely careful. We should feel the stones as we go along, because only fools rush in where wise men fear to tread,' Tewari said, pointing to the new dynamic 'at play again'. New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari Sunday said that India should approach the conflict in the Middle East, which has escalated with the United States joining Israel's war with Iran, with 'extreme circumspection' and a 'degree of exceptionalism' given that the rules-based liberal democratic international order has 'collapsed'. 'Under those circumstances, India must approach the situation with a degree of exceptionalism, whereby we engage with situations and problems on our own and not really try to play 'vishwa guru'. Not that we have tried to mediate in any of these conflicts which have very complex historical and geopolitical roots. However, after this latest escalation. You know, circumspection and extreme circumspection should be the order of the day,' Tewari said. While the Congress, the principal opposition party, is yet to issue a statement on the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, it had on 15 June accused Israel of violating Iran's sovereignty and encroaching on its rights. Tewari said the Congress's position was correct from the public international law perspective. 'Because there has been a violation of Iranian sovereignty. And albeit unprovoked because there is no empirical evidence to substantiate that Iran was close to actually acquiring a nuclear bomb for a nuclear weapon. In fact, the only nuclear weapon state in the de facto nuclear weapon state in the Middle East is Israel, which purportedly has 90 warheads,' said the Chandigarh MP and former Union minister who recently travelled to Egypt, Qatar, South Africa, and Ethiopia as the member of a multi-party delegation formed by the Centre after Operation Sindoor. In an opinion piece on the Middle East crisis published in The Hindu Saturday, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi criticised the Modi government's 'silence on the devastation in Gaza and now on the unprovoked escalation against Iran,' saying it reflects a disturbing departure from 'our moral and diplomatic traditions,' and amounts to a 'surrender of values'. Tewari endorsed that line, underlining India's historic position with regard to the two-state solution as Israel and Palestine was concerned and also with regard to respecting the sovereignty of independent countries. 'These are templates or postulates of Indian foreign policy which stretch back into time, and we have repeatedly called out such transgressions and invasions … this has been a consistent position. So is New Delhi really going to be taking a revisionist view on this position?' 'Also there is a domestic imperative. We have a large, diverse, heterogeneous population—a population which, notwithstanding their religious affiliations, does believe in a semblance of equity and fair play and so under those circumstances, even people would be very close to watching the positions which India would take,' Tewari, a three-term MP, said. Sharing his assessment of the geopolitical situation, Tewari said the world order and frames of an international rule of law stand completely and absolutely upended with concurrent conflicts playing out across the globe. 'In Europe, it is Russia versus Ukraine. In the Middle East, it is Israel versus Hamas versus Hezbollah versus Iran, and then you have the India-Pakistan standoff, which may have lasted a few days, but has lingering implications. And then you have the continuous militarization of the East China and South China sea as a consequence of the not too peaceful rise of China. 'What you are really witnessing is that the liberal democratic international order, built post World War II undergirded by the principles of public international law, has completely collapsed. The irrelevance of the United Nations and even the United Nations Security Council could not be more stark in what we are seeing today.' (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: Iran has fewer options & more risks than before. Its choices will affect all of Middle East
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Have differences with some in Congress: Tharoor
Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that he had 'differences of opinion' with some in the party leadership and alleged that he was not invited to campaign for the byelection in Nilambur, but added that the party, its values and workers were very dear to him. Tharoor was speaking to reporters in his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram after returning to the state following engagements in the UK and Delhi. When asked why he was absent from the party's campaign in Nilambur, which went to the polling booth on Thursday, Tharoor replied, 'It is true that I was not invited (to campaign). As you know, I was abroad for around 16 days. Even then, I did not get an invite or even a missed regardless of whether I campaigned or not, I want the Congress to win in Nilambur. We have a good candidate there, and our workers have worked very hard.' The Thiruvananthapuram MP also dwelt briefly on the speculations of friction between him and the Congress leadership in the backdrop of Congress leader Udit Raj's comment that Tharoor had become a 'super spokesperson of the BJP'. 'There are some differences of opinion with the current Congress leadership. It will be good if I speak to them within the party about such issues. Today is not the day for such discussions. There is a by-election happening today. The candidate is my friend and may he win. There will be a good result,' he said. Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has faced criticism from some Congress leaders for his comments after Operation Sindoor and for accepting the Centre's invite to head one of the multi-party delegations that travelled to international capitals to present India's stance on cross-border terrorism and Pakistan. On Thursday, Tharoor defended himself. The interaction with the PM was solely regarding the delegation visits, the discussions held with leaders of foreign countries etc. It was not a venue to discuss internal politics. I have always held that there is a place for politics and another for national interests. In 2014, when I was the chief of the foreign affairs commission WHAT IS THIS? , I had said then there were only Indian national interests in my mind, not the foreign policy interests of the Congress or the BJP,' he said. 'What I said during Operation Sindoor was my personal opinion. As an Indian, I have that right. If my country needed me and if the government asked me to, I would always be ready,' he added. Nilambur fell vacant after sitting MLA PV Anvar resigned following differences with LDF leadership. The contest is between Congress's Aryadan Shoukath, CPM's M Swaraj and Mohan George of BJP. The seat recorded a provisional turnout of 73.26%. On Thursday, Congress MP from Kasaragod, Rajmohan Unnithan had said that while Tharoor's body remained with the Congress, his loyalty lay with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. State Congress chief Sunny Joseph dismissed Tharoor's statements. 'Usually during by-elections, invites are not sent out to leaders (to come and campaign). During most parts of the campaign, Tharoor was out of the state and the country. If he had come, it would have been good. But we are aware of his style of politics and his busy schedule,' Joseph said. Tharoor's name had figured in the list of star campaigners given by the Congress for the bypoll.
The Print
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Tharoor admits to ‘difference of opinion' with Congress, says not asked to campaign in Nilambur
The Lok Sabha MP added that he prefers to discuss the disagreements directly within the party, as he believes that it is not the time for such discussions, given that the voting for the Nilambur bypoll is underway. 'You know that I have had some differences of opinion with the current Congress leadership. Many of these things are public,' the Thiruvananthapuram MP told reporters Thursday. Thiruvananthapuram: Breaking his silence on the growing rift, Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor went public with his 'differences of opinion with the current party leadership', stating that he was kept away from campaigning during the Nilambur bypoll in Kerala. Tharoor said he had been working with party workers for the past 15-16 years, adding there should be no doubts regarding the love and camaraderie he feels for the Congress party and its workers. The bypoll was necessitated after Left Democratic Front-backed Independent MLA P.V. Anvar resigned from his post following disagreements with the LDF leadership. More importantly, it comes just months before Kerala heads to the assembly elections. A victory in the bypoll and the assembly polls is necessary for the Congress, which has been in opposition since 2016. A seat where the Congress and its key ally the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have held sway, Nilambur has seen the entire state Congress leadership actively campaigning. Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi was also seen in the campaign for party candidate Aryadan Shoukath. Polling is being held in Nilambur on Thursday, while results will be out 23 June. Tharoor told the media that he wasn't invited by the party to campaign in Nilambur. 'During a busy time, usually they call and ask when we'll be coming. Usually, there will be a schedule. For example, when we had elections in Wayanad with Priyanka Gandhi, an invitation came, and then we planned. We also looked for convenience. But once we reach there, there should be a programme,' he said, adding that the campaign programmes are typically prepared by the local leadership and communicated to leaders, something that did not happen in Nilambur. 'I will go where I am invited,' the four-time MP said, adding that wished the Congress candidate's victory. Regarding his recent meeting with the Prime Minister and the speculation that he may be getting closer to the BJP, Tharoor clarified that the meeting pertained only to an all-party delegation's visit to nations and discussions after Operation Sindoor. It was not an occasion to discuss domestic politics, he added. Tharoor's relationship with the Congress party has deteriorated in recent weeks due to his public divergence from the party's official positions. He has repeatedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, most recently endorsing Operation Sindoor. However, Congress leadership including Jairam Ramesh quickly clarified that Tharoor's statements 'did not reflect the party's stance.' Ramesh also accused the Centre of indulging in 'cheap political games' by selecting Tharoor to lead an all-party delegation to explain India's position on the conflict with Pakistan, especially when the Congress had submitted four other MP names for consideration, none of whom were chosen. Similarly, a senior Congress leader close to the high command had accused Tharoor of crossing Lakshman Rekha in variance with the party line. On Thursday, Tharoor explained his stand regarding his role in the all-party delegation. 'I'm telling you now—when Operation Sindoor was happening, what I said was my own opinion. No one from the government called and asked me to say anything. I simply expressed what I felt. Those were the opinions of an Indian. That's how I spoke. That's how I served. I had also told you before leaving that if the government asks, when the country needs my service, I'm always ready for it,' he said, adding that it was the government, not the party, that had asked him to lead the delegation. The Lok Sabha MP recalled that when he first became chairman of the External Affairs Committee in 2014, he had stated that there is no such thing as a Congress foreign policy or a BJP foreign policy, and emphasised that his views on this have not changed. He also noted that nobody in the party has asked him for any clarifications. 'If they have any questions about what I said, they can ask me directly. So far, no such questions have come. I also saw that there were some misunderstandings. It's unfortunate that sometimes things escalate so quickly.' Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Kerala state party president Sunny Joseph were unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary said it was inappropriate for state leaders to respond, as Tharoor is a member of the Congress Working Committee. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Shashi Tharoor is hot property for everyone but Rahul Gandhi
Arabian Post
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Arabian Post
How Post Operation Sindoor Modi Doctrine Stifling India's Diplomatic Outreach?
By Nitya Chakraborty 26 days have passed since the temporary truce in the limited four day war between India and Pakistan taking effect on May 10 this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking of his three point doctrine since then, the most important of which is no dialogue with Pakistan unless the ruling regime of Islamabad shuns terrorism. Pakistan Prime Minister on the other hand is claiming as usual that his government had no role in the Pahalgam massacre of April 22, Pakistan strongly believes in fight against terrorism. Pakistan is ready for bilateral talks to discuss all the pending issues including terror. In this backdrop, fierce campaign has been launched by both India and Pakistan to influence the views of the foreign countries including the permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations. Seven parliamentary delegations from India are on a visit to 33 nations in their diplomatic outreach. Two delegations have already returned. Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor is still staying in the US at the head of the delegation to apprise both the U.S. government officials and the UN members the Indian viewpoint why Pakistan is the fountainhead of terrorist actions on Indian soil and why it is not possible to have any bilateral dialogue with Pakistan. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has himself visited four countries so far as a part of his government's global outreach. Simultaneously a high powered delegation led by former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in USA talking to the Washington administration and the UN members. The South Asian diaspora in USA is betting for a Bilawal-Tharoor debate on the current India Pak tensions. Bilawal in his press meet has talked of a bilateral meet between India and Pakistan to discuss the issues on the lines of Pakistan PM's position. Tharoor has to focus only on terror and Pak links to terror. He can not touch the issue of any bilateral dialogue at the moment as per post Operation Sindoor Modi doctrine. Herein lies India's dilemma of positive global diplomatic outreach. So far, the feedback from the Parliamentary delegations talks abroad and the Indian embassies own efforts for outreach is this – all foreign leaders and the diplomats in the course of discussions are mentioning two things. First they are all with India in its fight against terror. They all favour India's fight against terrorists based in Pakistan. But they do not like any war between the two nuclear powers on this issue. They want bilateral talks if India does not agree for a mediator. Even Russian foreign minister has mentioned this, though Russia's statement was strongest in support of India's actions. Thus in the perception battle or more specifically in information war, Pakistan is getting some advantage as of now vis a vis India. Left to the external affairs ministry officials, they could have done much better job than the visiting Parliamentary delegations but their hands are tied. Modi's doctrine has stifled their flexibility. The Washington based Indian officials are seeing how the wavelength they established with the White House in the last few years, are crumbling before their own eyes due to the intervention of the PMO, the Modi doctrine and the interference by the Overseas Friends of BJP in USA and the Hindu organisations close to Narendra Modi. These officers are engaged in fire fighting operations. Now let us look at some upcoming events which show how challenging will be India's task in the coming two months in the arena of global diplomacy. First, India has not been invited to the G-7 summit at Alberta in Canada scheduled from June 15 to June 17. In the last five years, our Prime Minister made every effort to make himself visible among the World's top leaders. Last year at the G-7 summit in Italy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the Indian PM belonging to their own far right clan. PM was expecting an invitation till a week back, but it has not been sent and all indications are that it will not be sent by the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The reason might be related to the possibility of pro- Khalistani demonstrations, but if the new Liberal Party PM wanted, he could have invited the Indian PM by making adequate arrangements for maintaining law and order. In such summits, always some kind of threat is there from the dissidents, but the summits take place after arranging full security preparations. More importantly, though Canada is the host country, other member countries did not bother to request the PM Mark Carney to invite India as India has been a long standing participant, The G-7 members are USA, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and Canada. The other non members invited are Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Ukraine. Narendra Modi enjoyed all the summits he attended giving the impression as if he belonged to one of those rich nations. But alas — in 2025 after India's unambiguous victory claimed by Modi against Pakistan in four day conflict, Indian Prime Minister has been shunned out of a crucial global summit. More trouble for Narendra Modi awaits in the month of July. This month Pakistan will take over as the President of the UN Security Council as per the rotation. The UNSC has five permanent members — USA, Russia, China, France and UK. There are ten non-permanent members now — Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia. Pakistan will take over as the UNSC President in July as per norms. The UNSC President has powers to set agenda. Naturally, it is expected that Pakistan will take full advantage of its presidency to include discussion on Kashmir in the UNSC agenda. Once it is proposed by the President, this will have to be discussed in the context of India- Pakistan relations. This is a big challenge to India. Indian foreign ministry will have to make all preparations to meet Pakistan's proposed salvo. The UNSC members, both permanent and non-permanent have to be properly briefed. Pakistan is sure to make full use of July presidency of UNSC to further its cause of inernationalising the Kashmir situation again. Indian foreign ministry has to come out of the purview of Modi doctrine if it wants to effectively meet the Pak onslaught. Apart in July itself, BRICS summit is scheduled in Brazil on July 6 and 7 this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited as one of the founding members. He is expected to attend it. The BRICS members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the initial members. Now the expanded BRICS includes another five countries Indonesia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Chinese President Xi Jinping is sure to attend it. It is to be seen whether President Putin attends since there is a warrant of International Criminal Court, so Putin is avoiding visits to the ICC member countries. This year, if Narendra Modi attends the BRICS summit, he will be attending with a demoted stature. His image as a defender of global South has got damaged due to India's identification with the US strategy in Asia Pacific and India's distancing itself from the geo political positions of BRICS. The USA does not like India's pro-active position in BRICS. In fact, President Trump is in a running battle with the Presidents of South Africa and Brazil. So what stand Narendra Modi will be taking at the BRICS summit, that assumes significance. The hard reality is that Prime Minister may go on campaigning in favour of his doctrine and making efforts to rouse nationalist passions against Pakistan in public meetings, but global diplomacy is a hard ball. Indian officials have to defend the government's position every single day. That has been a tough task with limited flexibility. Prime Minister's present new doctrine towards Pakistan needs some finetuning to adapt to the political mood of the global community. The battle against Pakistan and terror is long drawn. It needs holistic strategy and not one time solution. (IPA Service)
India Gazette
03-06-2025
- General
- India Gazette
Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla writes to PM Modi, demands
Amritsar (Punjab) [India], June 3 (ANI): Congress Lok Sabha MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concerns about the security of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar and demanding that the area be declared a 'no-war zone.' 'I earnestly appeal to the Government of India to initiate steps for NO WAR ZONE and protected status to Sri Harmandir Sahib, under a framework that ensures: Permanent, non-political, high-level security for the shrine like Vatican City. International recognition and protection under humanitarian and interfaith harmony principles as per UNO. A clear mechanism to prevent any future military, political, or strategic targeting of this sacred place,' Aujla said in the letter. Highlighting the global and national significance of the Golden Temple, which is revered by millions worldwide regardless of their religion, Aujla said that it has become urgent to safeguard the sacred institution with 'permanent, non-political, high-level security.' 'In the wake of recent war like situations, it has become an urgent need of the hour to safeguard this sacred institution with the highest level of permanent and global security,' the letter read. His demand comes after Major General Kartik C Seshadri earlier claimed that Pakistan's prime target was the Golden Temple, according to information received from the intelligence, an attempt which was thwarted by the Indian army on May 8. 'A recent claim by a senior officer of the Indian Army, of the rank of Major General, stated that Pakistan Air Force had targeted the Golden Temple. This claim is not only alarming but has raised deep concern among the Sikh community worldwide. Given the sensitive geographical and political nature of the region, such threats-- whether real or perceived--pose a risk to national security and global religious harmony,' the letter further read. 'Any threat to it--real or claimed--has the potential to disturb world peace and affect inter-community trust and harmony. Such perceptions must not be allowed to take root,' Aujla added. (ANI)
