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New Delhi: A fresh bout of infighting has erupted inside the Congress after Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor revisited the 1975-77 Emergency in a hard-hitting opinion piece, prompting party colleague Manickam Tagore to accuse him of echoing Bharatiya Janata Party talking-points. The spat, quickly seized on by the BJP, has revived debate over how India remembers one of its darkest political chapters.

Writing in Project Syndicate, Tharoor argued that the Emergency must be studied “in all its complexity” rather than dismissed as a single blot. He reminded readers that excesses meant to “bring discipline often descended into brutality,” citing forced sterilisations and mass slum demolitions led by Sanjay Gandhi.

“Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns, which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished and cleared. Thousands of people were rendered homeless. Their welfare was not taken into consideration,” he wrote.

Warning that authoritarian reflexes can re-emerge “in the name of national interest or stability,” Tharoor added:

“Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning. The guardians of democracy must always remain vigilant.”

Manickam Tagore’s ‘Parrot’ Swipe Fans Internal Tension

Soon after the article appeared, Tamil Nadu MP Tagore posted a barbed message on X (formerly Twitter):

“When a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics.”

When a Colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? 🦜
Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics.

— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) July 10, 2025

Though he stopped short of naming Tharoor, the target was obvious. It is not the first time the two have traded ornithological metaphors. Last month Tharoor tweeted a photograph of a bird with the caption: “Don’t ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one.”

Tagore replied a day later: “Don’t ask permission to fly. Birds don’t need clearance to rise. But in today, even a free bird must watch the skies — hawks, vultures, and ‘eagles’ are always hunting. Freedom isn’t free, especially when the predators wear patriotism as feathers.”

BJP Seizes On Congress Rift, Alleges ‘Emergency Mindset’

Sensing an opportunity, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters the exchange proved the Congress “still shamelessly defends the mindset that birthed the Emergency,” news agency PTI reported. He also linked the controversy to Rahul Gandhi’s recent protest in Patna against the Election Commission’s revision of the electoral roll, claiming the Opposition party accepts the legitimacy of institutions only when it wins elections.

Trivedi argued that generations have changed, but the Congress’s attitude has not, pointing out that the Emergency itself was declared after Indira Gandhi’s election was annulled by the courts.

The dispute arrives as Tharoor’s profile within the party remains complicated: he led a parliamentary delegation to promote the Modi government’s Operation Sindoor and has occasionally praised the Prime Minister’s initiatives, irking detractors at home in the party and Kerala. For now, the bird-inspired barbs continue to circle over Akbar Road, underscoring deeper ideological fissures as the Congress prepares for high-stakes state polls.