The Congress party asked its Member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, if he was interested in speaking during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament, but he declined. Instead, he expressed a desire to speak on The Indian Ports Bill, 2025, according to party sources on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, there has been intense speculation regarding whether Tharoor, who led the delegation to the US among other countries, would be selected as a speaker by the Congress. This follows his enthusiastic endorsement of the government’s actions after the recent terror attack, which has reportedly strained his ties with the party.

When asked whether Tharoor had been approached to speak during the debate, a senior Congress functionary told PTI, "It is standard practice that senior leaders are asked whether they are interested in speaking on a major issue. Gaurav Gogoi and K. Suresh had reached out to him and asked if he was interested in speaking during the debate on Operation Sindoor, to which he stated he was not interested and would prefer to speak on the ports bill."