‘Is it so difficult to be patriotic?,’ asks Salman Khurshid in dig at critics in Congress
&w=752&h=564&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Is it so difficult to be patriotic?,’ asks Salman Khurshid in dig at critics in Congress")
Congress leader Salman Khurshid praised the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir during the all-party delegation’s visit to Indonesia. Photograph: (PTI)
Salman Khurshid’s remarks came days after his party colleague Udit Raj slammed party MP Shashi Tharoor over his remarks in favour of the government and called him a “super spokesperson of the BJP”, which were endorsed by party leader Jairam Ramesh.
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a member of an all-party delegation conveying the Indian government’s message against terrorism, slammed political wrangling back home over his comments in favour of the nation and said on Monday that it was “distressing that people at home were calculating political allegiances”.
In a post on X, while taking a veiled dig at the critics in his party, Khurshid asked whether it was so difficult to “become patriotic” when the MPs’ delegations were on a mission against terrorism.
Khurshid’s remarks came days after his party colleague Udit Raj slammed party MP Shashi Tharoor over his remarks in favour of the government and called him a “super spokesperson of the BJP”, which were endorsed by party leader Jairam Ramesh.
‘It’s distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances’
“When on a mission against terrorism to carry India’s message to the world, it’s distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?,” he tweeted.
Although Khurshid did not explicitly mention who he was targeting, the post assumes significance as the Congress has been unhappy over the nomination of its leaders in the all-party delegation after the government ignored the recommendations made by the party.
Trending Stories
)
Amid explosions in Doha, White House says monitoring threats to US forces in Mideast
)
Iran launches Ops 'Glad Tidings of Victory' against US: Tehran fires missiles at US base in Qatar, explosions heard in Doha
)
Iran to target Qatar next? Doha halts air traffic amid fears of Iranian missile strike on LARGEST US airbase in Middle East
)
What is Brain Aneurysm, AVM, and Trigeminal Neuralgia? Rare disorders that Salman Khan is suffering from | Doctor decodes
)
'Take away power of this regime': Trump 'still interested' in Iran diplomacy but asks why Iranians don’t overthrow 'violent' regime
Explaining his tweet later, Khurshid said there was a need to speak in one voice in favour of the nation irrespective of political differences.
“People keep saying, ‘What are you doing in a delegation where there are people from the BJP? What are you doing there?’ What are we doing here? No matter which party you are from, today what is needed is a single voice to speak in favour of the nation and that is what we are doing here,” he told news agency ANI.
“I think when I say ‘Is it so difficult to be a patriot?’ - that is the question that has to be asked of those who are putting out tweets and saying things that I think I believe are not very encouraging when you want to do something for the nation,” he said.
Khurshid’s tweet came days after his party colleague Jairam Ramesh made a controversial remark over the all-party delegations, saying that the “terrorists were roaming and MPs were also roaming”.
Khurshid praises Article 370 removal
Khurshid had praised the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in his address in Indonesia while visiting with the delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha.
During the delegation’s visit to Indonesia last week, Khurshid had said that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, had long created a perception of Jammu and Kashmir being separate from the rest of India. He said this perception was finally put to an end with the government’s abrogation of the article.