New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has ignited a fresh controversy within his party by publicly lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Ramnath Goenka Lecture — even admitting he attended it while battling a bad cold and cough.
On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Tharoor described Modi’s address as both “an economic outlook and a cultural call to action.” He quoted the PM’s remark that India is no longer just an “emerging market” but an “emerging model” for the world.
Check out the controversial post here:
Attended PM @narendramodi’s #RamnathGoenkaLecture at the invitation of @IndianExpress last night. He spoke of India’s “constructive impatience” for development and strongly pushed for a post-colonial mindset.
The PM emphasized that India is no longer just an ’emerging market’… pic.twitter.com/97HwGgQ67N
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 18, 2025
He added: “A significant part of the speech was dedicated to overturning Macaulay’s 200-year legacy of ‘slave mentality.’” Modi’s appeal, Tharoor said, called for a “10-year national mission to restore pride in India’s heritage, languages, and knowledge systems.”
Tharoor’s unusually warm praise did not go down well with some of his fellow Congress leaders. Sandeep Dikshit questioned his loyalty: “Why are you in Congress … if you feel BJP and PM Modi’s strategies are better?” he told ANI, calling Tharoor “a hypocrite” for not switching sides.
Supriya Shrinate, another Congress figure, was equally critical. She said she did not see anything “praiseworthy” in Modi’s speech — in stark contrast to Tharoor, who braved illness to attend.
