Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics: Congress MP's indirect jibe at Tharoor

After Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's searing write-up on Emergency period during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure, his party colleague and MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday took an indirect, however, sharp jibe over the former, questioning whether the Thiruvananthapuram MP was echoing the BJP's narrative on the Emergency.

Tagore's cryptic message came after Tharoor, in an opinion piece published by Project Syndicate, argued that the Emergency should not be remembered solely as a dark chapter in India's history, but that its complexities and lessons must be fully understood.

Taking to X, Tagore wrote, "When a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics". Though he did not name Tharoor directly, the target of his post was clear.

In his searing op-ed, Tharoor recalled the excesses during the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977. He pointed out that measures intended to bring discipline often descended into brutality.

"Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns, which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished and cleared. Thousands of people were rendered homeless. Their welfare was not taken into consideration," Tharoor wrote.

Additionally, Tharoor also warned that the urge to concentrate power, suppress dissent and sidestep constitutional checks could resurface in different ways.

"Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning. The guardians of democracy must always remain vigilant," he added.

There have been rumblings within the Congress after Tharoor's recent comments on the India-Pakistan flare-up. Besides, Tharoor's behaviour particularly his praise for PM Narendra Modi during the recent diplomatic approach of India after Operation Sin door has also not gone well with the party. Even Congress insiders have on several occasions privately stated that Tharoor has crossed the party line.

In June, in his post on X, Tharoor shared a picture of a bird and wrote: "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one". The post was widely interpreted as signal that he would chart his own course and not be tethered by the party's internal constraints.