'He Is Not With Us': Congress Leader Muraleedharan Over Shashi Tharoor's 'Nation First' Remark

Last Updated:July 21, 2025, 07:03 IST

Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that Shashi Tharoor will not be invited to any party events in Thiruvananthapuram unless he alters his stance on national security.

File photo of Shashi Tharoor (PTI)

Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan has said his party colleague Shashi Tharoor will not be invited to any party programme in Thiruvananthapuram till he changes his stance on the national security issue.

Muraleedharan’s remark came as he responded to reporters on a question of Tharoor sticking to his stand on the issue of national security.

A day earlier, Tharoor had said that the nation comes first and parties are the means of making the country better.

Reacting to Tharoor’s remark, Muraleedharan said that Tharoor, also a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, was no longer considered as “one of us".

He added that the party’s national leadership would decide what action would be required against the Congress MP.

“Till he (Tharoor) changes his stance, we will not invite him to any party programme held in Thiruvananthapuram. He is not with us, so there is no question of him boycotting an event," Muraleedharan said.

Shashi Tharoor, was led one of the multi-party delegations to world capitals to put forth India’s stance against terrorism, had said that a lot of people have been very critical of him because of his stand supporting the armed forces and the central government in connection with India’s response to Pakistan in the form of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

“But I will stand my ground, because I believe this is the right thing for the country," he had said at an event in Kochi on July 19.

Tharoor had also said that when people like him call for cooperating with other parties in the interests of national security, their own parties feel that it’s disloyal to them and that becomes a big problem.

Earlier too, Muraleedharn had hit out at Tharoor over sharing of a survey suggesting he is United Democratic Front’s most preferred choice for chief minister, saying “he should first decide which party he belongs to".

The senior Congress leader had also attacked Tharoor following his article criticising Indira Gandhi over the Emergency appearing in a Malayalam daily.

Muraleedharan had urged the CWC member to choose a clear political path if he felt constrained within the Congress.

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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