Rift widens as Shashi Tharoor skips Priyanka Gandhi-led protest over Kerala nuns’ arrest

The rift continues to widen as Kerala MP and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday remained conspicuously absent from a protest led by the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi outside Parliament over the arrest of two nuns from the state in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.

Interestingly, yesterday Tharoor was part of a protest on the same issue, but was not seen today. The absence sparked a buzz as it played out against the backdrop of Tharoor’s strained ties with the Congress leadership over his public remarks after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, viewed by his party as support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi led-BJP government.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP was part of a protest by Kerala Congress MPs in the Parliament complex. Holding a placard that read, “India for all, proud to be one”, Tharoor said, “The nuns are innocent, they must be released. There should not be mob rule in the country. This is the government’s responsibility.”

Tharoor has been on the receiving end of barbs from his party colleagues over his praise of the BJP government’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Defending himself, Tharoor recently said his “first loyalty” lies with the nation.

“Parties are a means of making the nation better. Whichever party you belong to, the objective is to create a better India,” he said.

The Congress, determined to corner the government on the sudden announcement of the ceasefire by US President Donald Trump and the intelligence failure that led to the Pahalgam attack, did not approve of Tharoor’s comments.

At the protest today, Gandhi said the nuns were accused of things they were not doing.

“They were manhandled and then taken away by the Chhattisgarh police. We are protesting against these kinds of attacks on minorities,” she alleged.

Tharoor has been in news for the past several months for his strained ties with the Congress leadership.

The former diplomat was not on the Congress’s list of speakers for the Operation Sindoor debate.

Sources in the Congress have said that the party had approached  Tharoor to speak during the debate, but he refused to toe the party line and said he would not contradict himself “for the sake of party messaging”.

Two Kerala-based catholic nuns were arrested at Chhattisgarh’s Durg station last week. Bajrang Dal supporters alleged that they were trafficking three minor tribal girls after promising them jobs and education. They have been charged with human trafficking under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and forced conversion under the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act.

The incident has sparked a massive row, with Opposition parties led by the Congress accusing the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of targeting minorities.