Key Points

Manickam Tagore, Congress MP as well as AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, hurled a ‘Birds of Prey’ swipe at Tharoor, seeking to send a message that freedom won’t come for free in a country where ‘democracy is in danger’. Without taking Tharoor’s name or tagging him in his post, Manickam Tagore wrote on X, “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.”

The fresh war of words, though indirect and subtle, is set to widen the cracks between the Thiruvananthapuram MP and the Congress party. Notably, Tharoor has lately been unrestrained in stating out his differences with the party’s functioning.

On Wednesday, Tharoor responded to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s pointed sarcasm directed at him with a 'flying bird' tweet. Taking to his X handle, Tharoor posted a cryptic tweet and wrote, “Don’t seek permission to fly. The wings are yours. And, the sky belongs to no one.”

His post came barely hours after the party president, when questioned by scribes, said that the Congress party believes in putting the country first, unlike some who think “Modi comes first, the country later” - a remark meant to taunt the Thiruvananthapuram MP for “warming up” to the BJP.

Notably, Shashi Tharoor was the face of India’s diplomatic outreach after Operation Sindoor and was also heaping praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress MP also wrote an opinion piece, where he called PM Modi’s energy and global engagement “a prime asset” for India.

This created fresh unrest in the grand old party as many leaders questioned his allegiance and alignment with the Congress party’s stand on India’s foreign policy, while some accused him of leaning towards the BJP, for reasons best known to him.

- IANS