Tharoor 'opts out' of Op Sindoor debate, instead chooses Ports Bill

CONGRESS leader Shashi Tharoor declined an invitation from his party to speak during the high-stakes debate on Operation Sindoor in Parliament, choosing instead to focus on the Indian Ports Bill, 2025, party sources said on Monday.

- JAYANTH JACOB @ New Delhi

Speculation had mounted over whether Tharoor would be selected to speak after his kind of endorsement of the government's response to the Pahalgam terror attack reportedly strained his ties within the Congress.

According to a senior party functionary, Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Kodikunnil Suresh had reached out to Tharoor to gauge his interest in participating in the debate, but he expressed no interest and opted to speak on the ports legislation instead.