“’Nation over Party’: Tharoor’s Stance Sparks Kerala Congress Withholding Invite”

Congress Rift Widens as Muraleedharan Bars Tharoor from Events Over ‘Nation First’ Stance.

The simmering tensions between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and the party’s Kerala leadership burst into the open on Sunday, as senior leader K Muraleedharan declared that Tharoor would not be invited to any party events in Thiruvananthapuram until he “changes his stance on national security.”

In a sharp rebuke, Muraleedharan said Tharoor was “no longer one of us” and asserted that the decision on disciplinary action now lay with the Congress’s national leadership. “He is not with us, so there is no question of him boycotting any programme,” Muraleedharan told reporters, responding to questions about Tharoor’s recent statements seen as supportive of the BJP-led Centre.

The row comes ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, where the INDIA bloc is expected to attack the Modi government over what it calls security failures — particularly in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attacks and the much-publicised Operation Sindoor.

Tharoor, who led an all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor to Latin America, has stirred discontent within the Congress with his repeated emphasis on placing “nation above party.” Speaking in Kochi on Saturday, he said, “Political parties exist to make countries better. But I will stand my ground, because I believe this is the right thing for the country.”

He also acknowledged facing internal criticism for supporting the armed forces and the Centre on issues concerning national security and India’s borders. “When people like me urge cooperation across parties in the interest of national security, it’s often seen as disloyalty within our own ranks — and that’s the problem,” he said.

This is not the first time Muraleedharan has taken aim at Tharoor. The senior Congress leader had earlier criticised him for circulating a survey that showed Tharoor as the most popular UDF face for the chief minister’s post, remarking that the MP should “first decide which party he belongs to.”

Muraleedharan also attacked Tharoor for penning an article critical of Indira Gandhi’s role during the Emergency, published recently in a Malayalam daily. The widening rift has triggered calls within sections of the party for clarity on Tharoor’s future role, with some urging him to choose a definitive political path.