Khurshid hits out at Rahul’s inner circle over ‘unpatriotic’ acts 

The Congress appears to be coming apart at the seams, with Salman Khurshid, widely regarded as attuned to the sensitivities of the party’s first family, coming close to suggesting that the persistent criticism of the Modi government’s handling of Pakistan amounts to an “unpatriotic” act.

“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 wrote on social media platform X.

This is being seen as a strong rebuke of the positions taken by Rahul Gandhi and the darbaris surrounding the Nehru family scion. They have left no occasion untapped to disparage Congress members currently participating in a parliamentary outreach mission aimed at foreign capitals, an effort to reinforce India’s position that Pakistan remains a terror-harbouring nation in need of international censure.

Unlike leaders such as Shashi Tharoor, who are well-versed in foreign affairs, the darbaris—who occupy balcony seats in the Congress establishment—have spent much of their careers as backroom operators and special assistants to senior party leaders. Three senior Congress figures—Tharoor, Khurshid, and Anand Sharma—held key positions in the Ministry of External Affairs during the UPA years. Yet it is the darbaris who are now falling over each other in their eagerness to attack the party’s MPs abroad—efforts that are being firmly repulsed at regular intervals.

For his part, Tharoor, too, has pushed back against internal criticism. Speaking to journalists in Brazil where he was on Sunday leading a diplomatic outreach delegation, he said: “I think this is the time now for us to focus on our mission. Undoubtedly, in a thriving democracy there are bound to be comments and criticisms, but I think at this point we can’t afford to dwell on them. When we get back to India, we will have our chance to speak to our colleagues, critics, and the media. But right now, we are focused on the countries we are visiting and on getting the message out to the people here.”

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