- Congress criticized Shashi Tharoor over remarks on PM Modi.
- Tharoor claimed Modi mentioned civilian sailor safety with US.
- Congress dismissed Tharoor’s remarks, questioning their foundation.
A recent row erupted throughout the Congress on Saturday after senior chief Shashi Tharoor’s remarks relating to Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparked criticism from his personal social gathering, prompting the Thiruvananthapuram MP to concern an in depth clarification and defend his feedback.
For many who imagine I “heard” phrases that @narendramodi by no means mentioned on the G-7, I used to be merely alluding to broadly revealed stories about his remarks. If you wish to hear a report, right here’s one:https://t.co/dWkVwhWY0N
In any other case this was Google Gemini’s abstract:
“On the G7…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 20, 2026
The controversy started after Tharoor was reported as saying that Prime Minister Modi had conveyed a message relating to the safety of civilian sailors throughout interactions with the US president.
“You will need to convey the message that in wartime, civilian sailors on business ships shouldn’t be targets of fight. They don’t seem to be troopers, and that’s the message PM Modi conveyed,” Tharoor reportedly mentioned.
Congress Takes A Swipe
Responding to questions on the remarks, Congress media and publicity division head Pawan Khera launched a pointy assault on Tharoor.
Khera mentioned it appeared Tharoor’s admiration for Prime Minister Modi had “transcended the bodily world” and instructed that he now appeared able to listening to what the prime minister had by no means even mentioned.
The Congress chief additionally famous that he had not seen any reference within the India-US joint assertion to the killing of three Indian sailors by the US within the Gulf of Oman, difficult Donald Trump’s repeated claims relating to halting Operation Sindoor, or the assault on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena.
Tharoor Says Challenge Was About Indian Sailors
Responding on X, Tharoor expressed shock that his remarks had turn into the topic of a political controversy.
“Frankly, I discover it extraordinary {that a} assertion about defending Indian civilian sailors is being twisted right into a partisan political controversy. Three Indians misplaced their lives. My remarks had been concerning the security of our residents and the precept that civilian seafarers ought to by no means be targets of army motion.”
He added, “If some persons are extra desirous about scoring political factors than addressing that concern, that claims extra about them than it does about me.”
MP Shares Contemporary Clarification
As criticism continued, Tharoor issued one other put up on X defending the premise of his remarks and rejecting recommendations that he had attributed phrases to the prime minister that had been by no means spoken.
“For many who imagine I ‘heard’ phrases that @narendramodi by no means mentioned on the G-7, I used to be merely alluding to broadly revealed stories about his remarks,” Tharoor wrote.
Sharing a report and a abstract generated by Google’s Gemini, he mentioned the stories described Modi’s feedback on the G7 Outreach Session in Evian, France, the place the prime minister allegedly highlighted the necessity to shield civilian maritime staff and preserve safe world delivery routes.
In line with the abstract shared by Tharoor, Modi had confused that the security of seafarers was a worldwide accountability and had linked maritime disruptions within the Center East to wider financial and human-security issues.
The abstract cited by Tharoor said: “A number of Indian civilians have additionally misplaced their lives. The protection of seafarers, who join nations by way of world maritime commerce, is our accountability. We should be sure that sea routes stay safe and that seafarers can perform their work with out concern.”
‘I Stand By My Abstract’
Tharoor mentioned his feedback had been primarily based on revealed stories and never on any private interpretation.
“I learn broadly and retain what I learn. I’ve by no means in my life been accused of misrepresenting or distorting any details or statements and I stand by my abstract of what I learn within the print media bout these remarks, which had been reportedly made when our PM was seated subsequent to @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote.
The change marks the most recent public disagreement between Tharoor and sections of the Congress management, with the controversy centring on his interpretation of reported remarks made by Prime Minister Modi relating to the security of civilian sailors amid ongoing tensions within the Gulf area.
