Tharoor declines to speak on Op Sindoor, opts for ports bill debate

The Congress asked its MP Shashi Tharoor if he was interested in speaking during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament but he declined and instead expressed a desire to speak on 'The Indian Ports Bill, 2025', party sources said on Monday.

There has been intense speculation on whether Tharoor, who led the delegation to the US 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 tge party.

Asked whether Tharoor was asked to speak during the debate, a senior Congress functionary told PTI, "It is a practise 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 Tharoor on the assertion by the party sources.

 

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".

The first week of disruption in Parliament's Monsoon session is set to give way to a fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor from Monday afternoon as the ruling alliance and the Opposition prepare to lock horns over the two issues steeped in national security and foreign policy imperatives.

The BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance and opposition parties are expected to field their top guns during the discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

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 US 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 Trump's frequent mediation claims to target the ruling alliance. The government has rejected Trump's claims.