Shashi Tharoor denies attacking Congress party after remarks on Gen Z outreach

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor stated on Saturday that his recent comments regarding the party's connection with young voters were distorted by the media as an attack on his party and its leadership. Speaking at an event for India's International Movement to Unite Nations in Mumbai on Friday, Tharoor questioned whether established political parties have failed to listen to new voices and if the Congress party's finger was missing from the pulse of Gen Z. He noted that while Rahul Gandhi's Chhatron ki Goonj campaign addressed paper leaks, it did not resonate with students as effectively as the protests led by the CJP at Jantar Mantar. Tharoor argued that established parties may become irrelevant if they do not create pathways for young people to overcome hierarchies and dynastic considerations to shape politics. Following the circulation of his remarks on social media, Tharoor posted the full video of the conversation on X, accusing some media outlets of incompetence and malice. During the same event, Tharoor criticized the police action against protesters in Delhi on July 20 and praised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for describing Gen Z protests as a justifiable expression of democracy.