NEW DELHI: Facing open criticism from KeralaCongress leaders, Shashi Tharoor hit back on Tuesday, questioning the credibility of those making the claims.“People saying this also have to have a basis of saying this… who are they? what is their party position… I would like to know. Don’t ask me to explain other people’s behaviour... you talk to them about their behaviour. I can only talk about my own behaviour,” Tharoor told reporters when asked about the statements made by fellow Congress leaders.His remarks come a day after two senior Congress leaders from Kerala — Rajmohan Unnithan and K Muraleedharan — launched a direct attack on Tharoor, accusing him of undermining the party line and siding with the Modi government on key issues.Unnithan alleged that Tharoor shared internal party discussions with the Prime Minister and demanded that he be barred from Congress Parliamentary Party meetings. “Tharoor should no longer be allowed to attend Congress Parliamentary Party meetings. Whatever is discussed there, he goes and tells PM Modi,” he said.Muraleedharan added that the state unit of the party would no longer engage with Tharoor. “We are not ready to cooperate with him in Kerala because he always keeps attacking the Congress and Indira Gandhi. Till he changes his stance, we will not invite him to any party programme held in Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.The friction between Tharoor and the party has been simmering for months, exacerbated by his public praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his support for Operation Sindoor, and recent comments critical of the Emergency and Sanjay Gandhi.“He doesn’t need to wait for the party to expel him — that’s not going to happen. But he clearly wants to be thrown out. It’s best he leaves on his own,” Unnithan said.Tharoor has previously defended his remarks, saying national interest takes precedence over party loyalty. At a recent event in Kochi, he said, “Sometimes the parties feel that is disloyal to them… to my mind, the nation comes first.”
