Egg on Shashi Tharoor’s Face: Congress Admits It Totally Bunged Up Reading Modi’s Ukraine Strategy

New Delhi: Congress leader and MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor, has admitted that he misjudged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war. His latest remarks come as a shift from his earlier stance, where he had criticized India’s position on the conflict.  

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Tharoor said, “Yes, I’m still wiping the egg off my face.” He was referring to his speech in Parliament in February 2022, where he had opposed India's neutral stance and called for a direct condemnation of Russia's actions.  

He further said, " On the well-worn grounds that Espen will understand, because he and I talked about all this in my UN days, that there was a violation of the UN Charter, that there had been a violation of the principle of the inviolability of borders, of the sovereignty of a member state, namely Ukraine, and we had always stood for the admissibility of the use of force to settle international disputes. And all of those principles, I said, had been violated by one party, and we should have condemned it. 

Tharoor had initially argued that India's foreign policy should align with its long-standing support for the UN Charter and the sovereignty of nations. However, he now concedes that Modi’s diplomatic approach has worked in India’s favor. 

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“A couple of years later, three years later, it does look like I'm the one with egg on my face because clearly the policy has meant that India has actually a prime minister who can hug both the president of Ukraine and the president of Moscow two weeks apart and be accepted in both places,” Tharoor said, lauding India’s balanced diplomacy.  

India’s Role in Global Peace  

Tharoor also acknowledged that India's neutral stance has positioned the country as a potential mediator in global conflicts. He noted that India, being geographically distant from Europe and not directly affected by border disputes, holds a unique position in global affairs.  

“And therefore, India is in a position where it can make a difference to a lasting peace if it was so required in ways that very few countries would be able to,” he stated.  

No Politics, Only National Interest  

Responding to questions about his changed stance, Tharoor clarified that his views were not politically motivated but were based on what he believed was in India’s best interest.  

"I spoke on the matter as a Bharatheeyan (Indian). I don’t see politics in that,” he told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.