KOCHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday attempted to justify his controversial article criticizing the 1975 Emergency while clarifying that he “said nothing against the Gandhi family”.
Tharoor, who invited the wrath of senior party leaders through his controversial article, appeared to have mellowed down from his earlier stance. “What I have written now was just similar to my writings in 1997, and has said nothing against the Gandhi family. I’ve (only) mentioned some individuals and incidents that happened at that time (Emergency),” the senior Congress leader told reporters here on the sidelines of a function organised by the Council for Community Co-operation at TDM Hall.
Earlier, in his sharply worded article, which appeared on certain online platforms, Tharoor termed the 21-month Emergency (1975–77) a “dark period” in India’s democratic history and accused former prime minister Indira Gandhi of authoritarian overreach.
He went further, calling out her son Sanjay Gandhi for “terrible atrocities” such as forced sterilisation and the use of violence in rural areas.
Tharoor wrote that the period “severely tested the fundamental guarantees of equality, liberty, and fraternity” and left a lasting scar on Indian politics.
Tharoor also defended his praising the Narendra Modi government over Operation Sindoor, saying that one has to prioritise national security over a political party.
“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,” Tharoor said, while replying to a query. “...sometimes the parties feel disloyal to them. 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 that party is to create a better India in its own way”.
The Congress MP, however, clarified that he didn’t want to indulge in any “political conspiracy”.
“I am not here to discuss any politics or problems... Today’s speech was about communal harmony... Inclusive development has been my theme throughout my years in politics. I believe in inclusion, development, national security, and national interest. These may be cliches, but I happen to believe in them and live for them. I have not come to indulge in any political conspiracy,” he said.
Interestingly, the Congress district leadership didn’t invite Tharoor to any of the multiple party programmes held on Saturday despite the fact that the Thiruvananthapuram MP was in the city.
