&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Which is your first loyalty? To my mind...': Shashi Tharoor's 'nation first' message amid speculation over rift with Congress")
Amid the ongoing speculation over a rift with the Congress party, senior party leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday (July 19) said that political parties in India must cooperate for the nation's benefit and keep an India-first approach. Speaking at an event in Kochi on 'Peace, Harmony and National Development', Tharoor said that the nation must come first, and parties are merely vehicles to build a better country.
"Which is your first loyalty? To my mind, the nation comes first. Parties are a means of making the nation better. So, to my mind, whichever party you belong to, the objective of the party is to create a better India in its own way. Now, parties have every right to disagree about the best way of doing that," the Congress leader said.
The MP also addressed the criticism he received for supporting the BJP-led government for Operation Sindoor against Pakistani terrorists following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
"A lot of people have been very critical of me because of the stand I have taken, supporting our armed forces and our government, and what happened recently in our country and our borders. But I will stand my ground, because I believe this is the right thing for the country," Tharoor said.
When he was asked about his relationship with the Congress party, Tharoor said, "When people like me say that we respect our parties, we have certain values and convictions that keep us in our parties, but we need to cooperate with other parties in the interest of national security. Sometimes the parties feel that is disloyal to them. That becomes a big problem."
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"Inclusive development has been my theme throughout my 16 years in politics, and I believe in inclusiveness and in development. I also believe in national security and national interest," he added.
The speculation around a rift between Tharoor and the Congress party erupted when the MP was chosen to lead the Operation Sindoor outreach by the BJP-led government.
