'Not leaping to join BJP': Shashi Tharoor after his opinion piece praising PM prompts 'party switch' speculation

He said the article was a statement of national unity and about standing up for India.

In the article, Tharoor praises PM Modi as a 'prime asset' for India and calls for 'greater support' for the PM.

"It is not a sign of my leaping to join the Prime Minister's party... as some people have, unfortunately, been implying. It is a statement of national unity... national interest... and standing up for India," the four-time Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP told the media.

In a big boost for Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's opinion piece for a prominent English news publication, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office shared it on X.

Tharoor's article - 'Lessons from Operation Sindoor's global outreach' - was published on Monday morning by The Hindu.

However, the fact that the PMO shared the article had raised speculations about whether Tharoor is contemplating a switch from the Congress to the BJP.

Much of that buzz has been fuelled by criticism from sections of the Congress Kerala unit.

Shashi Tharoor, who has had differences of opinion with party colleagues of late, earlier said he has been loyal to the Congress for the last 16 years and that disagreements can be sorted "behind closed doors" with the people concerned.

Speaking to NDTV, Tharoor said, "If there are any differences, it should be discussed behind closed doors with the people concerned, and that is where I want to leave it."

The Centre's move to pick Shashi Tharoor to lead an outreach delegation to the US did not go well with his party, especially his praises about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on handling the Pahalgam terror attack and then Operation Sindoor have pissed off a section of Congress leaders.