Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reignited tensions with his party on Tuesday after publicly praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again. Writing on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP recounted his experience attending a private event in Delhi where the Prime Minister spoke on India’s development trajectory and post-colonial mindset.
“PM Modi emphasised that India is no longer just an ’emerging market’ but an ’emerging model’ for the world,” Tharoor wrote. Tharoor highlighted the country’s economic resilience in navigating global challenges such as the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict.
Shashi Tharoor PM Modi’s Speech
According to Tharoor, the Prime Minister addressed accusations of being constantly in “election mode,” clarifying that he was instead in an “emotional mode” to tackle the problems of the people. The speech, Tharoor noted, also focused on the historical impact of colonialism on India’s education system.
A significant portion of the address, he said, was dedicated to challenging the 200-year legacy of Thomas Babington Macaulay, the British MP credited with introducing Western-style education in India and making English the primary language of instruction. Modi called for a 10-year national mission aimed at restoring pride in India’s heritage, languages, and knowledge systems.
Attended PM @narendramodi’s #RamnathGoenkaLecture at the invitation of @IndianExpress last night. He spoke of India’s “constructive impatience” for development and strongly pushed for a post-colonial mindset.
The PM emphasized that India is no longer just an ’emerging market’… pic.twitter.com/97HwGgQ67N
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 18, 2025
“On the whole, the address served as an economic outlook and a cultural call to action, urging the nation to be restless for progress. Glad to have been in the audience…” Tharoor added.
Shashi Tharoor Seated Along BJP Leader
Visuals from the event showed Tharoor seated alongside BJP leader and former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to his left, and former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to his right.
The Prime Minister said that India’s traditional education system emphasized cultural pride and skill-based learning, which Macaulay deliberately undermined.
“Macaulay ensured that the British language and British thinking received greater recognition during that period, and India paid the price for it for centuries to come,” Modi stated, adding that the British politician had “broken our self-confidence and filled us with a sense of inferiority.”
Shashi Tharoor Sour Relations With Congress Party
Tharoor’s praise for Modi is unlikely to sit well with Congress colleagues, particularly as this is not the first instance of the MP speaking favorably about the Prime Minister. Relations between Tharoor and the party have reportedly deteriorated over recent months, particularly following his selection as one of the opposition faces in government delegations sent abroad after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Tharoor led delegations to the United States and four other countries, returning to India to be debriefed by the Prime Minister, which fueled speculation about his political loyalties.
Tension also arose from the Prime Minister’s “energy, dynamism, and willingness to engage post-Operation Sindoor,” mentioned in an article shared by the PM’s office on X, which called him a “prime asset” for India.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
