Shashi Tharoor ‘praises’ Modi govt’s diplomacy, BJP amplifies remarks on social media: What the Congress MP said

Shashi Tharoor has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government's diplomacy, Bharatiya Janata Party said, sharing the Congress Member of Parliament's (MP) recent remarks in an interview.

“Frankly, even if I would have been advising a Congress government, my advice to them would have been to act with restraint this time,” Tharoor is heard saying in the video, referring to India's stance during the ongoing US-Iran war.

“Restraint is not surrender, it is a strength, a way of showing that we know what our interests are and will act first and foremont to protext them,” the former Union Minister said in an interview with news agency ANI

“Congress MP Shashi Tharoor praises Modi Govt’s diplomacy. At a time of global tension, India’s balanced and mature approach stands out,” the BJP said.

Tharoor said countries like India should take a constructive diplomatic role to reduce tensions. "What many countries like us ought to be doing... is to actually take an initiative to call for peace, to give both sides a ladder to climb down," he said in the interview with the news agency.

Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrikeon Iran on 28 February. His death was confirmed by state media hours after US President Donald Trump announced it.

On 5 March, India expressed condolences over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on behalf of the Government of India. This marked the first diplomatic gesture from India since the former Supreme Leader's death. Misri also met the Iranian ambassador.

While Tharoor praised India’s restraint, he said that India issuing a timely condolence on Khamenei’s death on 28 February would have been the “most appropriate thing to do” even if the US-Israeli action was not condemned.

“I agree with the critics. The very first day of the conflict, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed, we should have expressed our condolences. That would have been the most appropriate thing to do. It would have been the right thing to do given his role in the country,” Tharoor told news agency ANI on whether India should have issued condolences on the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader on 28 March.

Tharoor also recalled India's position after former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in 2024. PM Modi expressed his "deeply saddened and shocked" at the tragic demise of President Raisi. India also declared one-day mourning at Raisi's death.

“There is a difference between condolence and condemnation. If you feel politically that you are not going to condemn what the American-Israeli attack has done, that's fine. However, condolence is an expression of sympathy for the bereaved one and to the government and people of Iran. That is something we could have done,” Tharoor said.

(With agency inputs)