‘Is it so difficult to be patriotic’: Salman Khurshid's cryptic post on diplomatic mission abroad

Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is "distressing" that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is "so difficult to be patriotic".

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Khurshid, a former external affairs minister, is part of a delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha which is currently in Malaysia after visiting Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore to convey India's message against terrorism in the wake of April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor launched on May 7.

Taking to X and without naming anyone, the senior Congress leader said, "When on mission against terrorism, to carry India's message to the world, it's distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?"

Khurshid's cryptic post comes after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor faced attacks from party leaders, including Udit Raj, who called him a "super spokesperson of BJP" for remarks which were perceived to favour the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. Tharoor is leading one of the seven delegations and is currently in Brazil.

Khurshid's remarks come a day after he said during an interaction with think-tanks in Indonesia that Kashmir had "major problems" for a long time and the abrogation of Article 370 finally put an end to it. The remarks were welcomed by leaders from the ruling BJP and stirred a controversy.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla, referring to Khurshid's remarks, slammed the Congress and other opposition parties, accusing them of overlooking national interest.

"After Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, yet another Congress leader has given a reality check and shown the mirror to Congress and INDI-alliance," Poonawalla said.