Latest news with #ProjectSyndicate
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Bird Becoming Parrot?" Congress' Dig At Shashi Tharoor After Emergency Article
New Delhi: Shashi Tharoor's article on the Emergency, which is the latest flashpoint between him and the Congress, has prompted a dig from a party colleague, who used an avian analogy to get his message across without naming anybody. The Emergency has become a hot-button issue in Indian politics, especially since the BJP-led government at the Centre began marking June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Divas' to mark the day it was imposed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders have been speaking out against the Emergency, calling it the darkest period in Independent India's history and using it to attack the Congress. Eyebrows were, thus, raised when Mr Tharoor, who is the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, wrote an article on the Emergency in the media non-profit Project Syndicate and said the "excesses" during the period were "downplayed". The article also included criticism of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son, Sanjay Gandhi, and the forced vasectomy campaigns. Mr Tharoor has been seen as moving increasingly closer to the BJP, especially after his support for Operation Sindoor, which was India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, and his praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Tharoor also went against his party and led an outreach delegation to five nations, including the US, to convey India's stand that it will adopt a zero-tolerance policy to terrorism, earning praise from the PM and BJP leaders. This perceived closeness was used to take a jibe at Mr Tharoor - without naming him - by Manickam Tagore, the party's whip in the Lok Sabha. "When a Colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder - is the Bird becoming a parrot?" Mr Tagore wrote on X. When a Colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? 🦜 Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics. — Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) July 10, 2025 "Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics," he added. 'Unchecked Power' In the article, Mr Tharoor said some of the government's actions during the Emergency reflected "unspeakable cruelty". "In fact, the quest for "discipline" and "order" often translated into unspeakable cruelty, exemplified by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by (Indira) Gandhi's son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets. Slum demolitions, carried out with ruthless efficiency in urban centres like New Delhi, rendered thousands homeless, with little to no concern for their welfare," Mr Tharoor wrote. "These acts were later downplayed as unfortunate excesses. And some might point out that, in the Emergency's immediate aftermath, there was a fleeting sense of order imposed, a temporary respite from the unruliness of democratic politics. But the violence was a direct consequence of a system where unchecked power had become tyrannical, and whatever order the Emergency delivered came at a very high price: the soul of our republic," the MP added.
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Emergency column puts Tharoor in firing line. Congress says ‘decide which party you belong to'
A shorter version of the column titled 'Heeding the Lessons of India's Emergency' was published in Project Syndicate on 8 July. In a column published Thursday in the Malayalam daily Deepika , Tharoor termed measures taken during the Emergency 'cruelties beyond words'. Thiruvananthapuram: A survey projecting Shashi Tharoor as the most popular choice among Kerala Congress leaders for the chief minister's post, along with a column in which he criticised excesses committed during the Emergency, has become the latest flashpoint between the party and its four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. 'The quest for 'discipline' and 'order' often translated into unspeakable cruelty, exemplified by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by (Indira) Gandhi's son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets. Slum demolitions, carried out with ruthless efficiency in urban centers like New Delhi, rendered thousands homeless, with little to no concern for their welfare,' he wrote, adding the period of the Emergency should be looked at to draw larger lessons from it. 'We should understand the lessons of the Emergency beyond merely tagging it as a dark page in India's history. Whether we will be able to foresee the rise of a dictator? Are we doing enough to protect civil society and institutions like the media and judiciary? Anyone who has faith in democracy should ask this,' wrote Tharoor, who has been a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) since August 2023. A day after Tharoor shared the survey by a private polling agency that projected him as the popular choice for chief minister, Kerala Congress leaders asked the MP to first clarify his own political affiliation. 'First, let him decide which party he belongs to,' said senior Congress leader K. Muraleedharan, adding that many leaders other than Tharoor are working for the party on the ground. 'If the UDF comes to power, one nominee from the UDF will become the CM. It'll be someone who's working 24 hours in the state. There are many leaders doing that grunt work in the Congress. Tharoor is a global figure; we need somebody who knows the state. Let the global leader look after world affairs, and we'll look after the state,' he told the media in Ernakulam. Muraleedharan also said the party is currently focused on winning elections, not picking a chief ministerial prospect. Having been in opposition for two consecutive terms, the Congress finds itself heading into a battle for survival in Kerala. While it won the hotly contested Nilambur assembly bypoll last month, the party's Kerala unit is still grappling with infighting and internal discord. Muraleedharan's remarks came on the same day Tharoor's article criticising the excesses of the Emergency sparked a heated debate in Kerala Congress circles. Reacting to it, Muraleedharan said party leaders believe it is important to discuss the events leading up to the declaration of the Emergency. 'Kerala was not affected by the Emergency. Congress won in states where they managed well during the Emergency, including Kerala,' he told the media in Ernakulam. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said he hadn't read Tharoor's article. 'I am not aware of him writing such an article. I haven't seen it either. I don't think there's any situation that required him to write it. Because he is a parliamentary member of the party and a Working Committee member, it's difficult to believe he wrote an article against Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi,' said Chennithala, a permanent CWC invitee and former Kerala Leader of Opposition. He also dismissed the survey as a BJP ploy to sow confusion among voters and within the UDF in the run-up to the polls. 'There is no trust in these surveys. It's a cooked-up survey. We don't need to catch on to it. It's usual to have surveys like these during elections,' Chennithala said. The survey conducted by the private research agency Vote Vibes and titled 'State Vibes: Kerala Elections 2026', indicated that 28.3 percent of respondents wanted Tharoor as UDF's CM face in the Assembly polls, followed by Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan at 15.4 per cent. Chennithala was chosen by 8.2 percent, while 6 percent saw Muraleedharan as their top choice. The results were published on 7 July and shared by Tharoor on his X handle Wednesday. In the LDF camp, former state health minister K.K. Shailaja received the most support, with 24.2 percent, followed by incumbent CM Pinarayi Vijayan at 17.5 per cent. The survey also found that 47.9 percent of respondents said there is 'very high anti-incumbency' sentiment in Kerala, with women expressing slightly higher anti-incumbency (43 percent) than men (39 percent). According to the poll conducted by the agency headed by political consultant Amitabh Tiwari, the NDA emerged as a third option, with 23.1 percent of respondents expressing trust in the alliance, compared to 38.9 percent for the Congress-led UDF and 27.8 percent for the LDF. The agency, however, did not disclose details about the sample size or the methodology of the survey. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: New twist in Congress-Tharoor saga—PMO shares Kerala MP's article on Op Sindoor global outreach
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Shashi Tharoor writes of Emergency's ‘unspeakable cruelty', ‘deep and lasting impact on lives'
Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has yet again put himself at odds with his party, penning an article slamming former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing the Emergency. Fifty years later, Tharoor has written, the country is 'more prosperous' and has 'a robust democracy'. The article, titled 'Heeding the Lessons of India's Emergency', was first published on the website Project Syndicate, and reproduced in the Church-backed Malayalam daily Deepika on Thursday. Talking of 'unspeakable cruelty' in the name of 'discipline and order', Tharoor says this was exemplified 'by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by Gandhi's son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets. Slum demolitions, carried out with ruthless efficiency in urban centers like New Delhi, rendered thousands homeless, with little to no concern for their welfare.'' Noting that Mrs Gandhi argued that the Emergency was 'necessary' to 'combat internal disorder and external threats, and bring discipline and efficiency to a chaotic country', Tharoor says: 'The period's excesses caused deep and lasting harm to countless lives, leaving a legacy of trauma and mistrust in affected communities – which they demonstrated by overwhelmingly voting Gandhi and her party out of power in the first free elections after the Emergency was lifted in March 1977.' Tharoor goes on to compare the India of today compared to that in 1975. 'We are a more confident, more prosperous, and, in many ways, a more robust democracy. Yet, the lessons of the Emergency remain alarmingly relevant. The temptation to centralise power, to silence critics, and to bypass Constitutional safeguards can emerge in many forms, often cloaked in the rhetoric of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency should serve as a potent warning: democratic stalwarts must be eternally vigilant.' Tharoor's latest remarks follow his open disagreement with the Congress over the stand the party took on all-party delegations sent by the Centre to different countries to explain India's stand on terror, after Operation Sindoor. Tharoor headed one of the delegations. In an article he later wrote in The Hindu, the MP had said the intensive period of public diplomacy affirmed that India, when united, can project its voice with clarity and conviction on international platforms. Tharoor further embarrassed the party in Kerala when he acknowledged 'differences of opinion' with the party leadership during the recent Nilambur bypoll. With Tharoor's remarks adding to the impression of a divided Congress Kerala unit, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan said while he had seen Tharoor's article, he did not wish to comment on it. Former state Congress chief K Muraleedharan was more upfront. 'Let him (Tharoor) decide which party he belongs to. Our aim is to win next year's elections. Discussions on the Emergency at this stage are irrelevant,' Muraleedharan said, while pointing out that in Kerala, the Congress had won by a landslide even in the post-Emergency 1977 elections. Tharoor's latest remarks incidentally coincide with a survey report claiming he was the most preferred chief ministerial candidate for next year's Assembly elections. Tharoor shared the report on his X handle. A four-term MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor has already made it clear that he is interested in state politics, which has contributed to the disquiet in the state unit. Reacting to this, United Democratic Front (UDF) convenor Adoor Prakash said: 'Certain people made deliberate attempts to conduct surveys.' Muraleedharan said the UDF will decide who the new CM would be. Congress leader from Kerala and AICC Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala claimed the BJP was behind the survey.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
‘Repeating BJP lines': Congress MP's swipe at Tharoor over Emergency column
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's recent public remarks, including his critical reflections on the Emergency period and his views on India's diplomatic strategy, have drawn pointed responses from within the party, signalling internal differences over both tone and substance. In his latest opinion pieces, one in Project Syndicate and another in Malayalam daily Deepika — Tharoor described the 1975–77 Emergency as a 'dark period' and cited 'unspeakable atrocities' committed during that time. He referred directly to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi, highlighting forced sterilisation drives, slum demolitions and suppression of fundamental rights as key failings of that era. Tharoor also argued that the Emergency should serve as a cautionary example for democracies today and warned against the centralisation of power and erosion of institutional checks. His interpretation has not gone uncontested. Congress leaders have privately expressed concern over what they view as a narrative that closely aligns with long-standing critiques by the BJP, which has frequently used the Emergency to target the Congress. While the party has not issued a formal rebuttal, Congress MP Manickam Tagore appeared to indirectly respond to Tharoor on X, writing: 'When a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder: is the Bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics.' Though the post did not name Tharoor, it came shortly after his Emergency article was published and was widely interpreted as a comment on the Thiruvananthapuram MP's stance. This exchange follows a similar social media episode last month, when Tharoor posted an image of a bird along with the caption: 'Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one.' The message was read as a response to growing internal criticism towards him. Tagore replied the next day with a metaphor warning of 'hawks, vultures and eagles' targeting free birds.
India Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Bird becoming parrot: Congress MP's veiled dig at Shashi Thaoor's Emergency op-ed
Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Thursday appeared to aim a sharp but indirect dig at his party colleague Shashi Tharoor, questioning whether the Thiruvananthapuram MP was echoing the BJP's narrative on the cryptic message came after Tharoor, in an opinion piece published by Project Syndicate, argued that the Emergency should not be remembered solely as a dark chapter in India's history but that its complexities and lessons must be fully to X, Tagore wrote, "When a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics". Though he did not name Tharoor directly, the target of his post was clear. In his searing op-ed, Tharoor recalled the excesses during the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977. He pointed out that measures intended to bring discipline often descended into brutality."Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns, which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished and cleared. Thousands of people were rendered homeless. Their welfare was not taken into consideration," Tharoor Tharoor also warned that the urge to concentrate power, suppress dissent, and sidestep constitutional checks could resurface in different ways."Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning. The guardians of democracy must always remain vigilant," he RIFT DEEPENSAmid simmering unease within the Congress, Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks on the India-Pakistan conflict and New Delhi's diplomatic approach have stood out for not aligning with his party's official was last month that Tharoor, who has lately drawn notice for his overt praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leadership of a delegation to spread the government's message on Operation Sindoor, kicked off what has now become a 'bird analogy' sparring match within the a cryptic post on X last month, the Thiruvananthapuram MP shared a picture of a bird and wrote: "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one". The post was widely read as Tharoor's subtle but firm rejoinder to critics within the Congress, a signal that he would chart his own course and not be tethered by the party's internal up the same metaphor, Tagore appeared to fire back the very next day. "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," Tagore wrote.- Ends
