Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he has never violated the party’s stated positions in Parliament, asserting that his only public disagreement in principle was over Operation Sindhoor.

Answering questions during a session at the Kerala Literature Festival here, Tharoor said he had taken a strong stand on that issue and remained "unapologetic".

His statement comes amidst recent reports stating "Tharoor’s differences with the party leadership", with a speculation that he is upset over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not adequately acknowledging his presence at a recent event in Kochi and over alleged repeated attempts by state leaders to sideline him.

Explaining his position, Tharoor said that, as an observer and writer, he had written a newspaper column after the Pahalgam incident, stating that it should not go unpunished and that there should be a kinetic response.

He said that while India is focused on development, it should not be dragged into a prolonged conflict with Pakistan, and that any action should be limited to targeting terrorist camps.

Tharoor said that to his surprise, the Indian government did exactly what he had recommended.

Tharoor said it was Jawaharlal Nehru who posed the famous question: "Who lives if India dies?"

"When India is at stake, when India’s security and its place in the world are involved, India comes first," he said.

He added that political parties may have differences as part of the process of building a better India, but when national interests are involved, India must prevail.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has arrested a 22-year-old man who allegedly stole cash, a laptop and a mobile phone from his uncle's shop in Dwarka to take revenge after he was fired from the family business, officials said on Wednesday.

Piyush Tulswani, the accused, completed his Class 11 from Rajasthan's Pilani, after which he came back to live with his family, a senior police officer said.

His father, Kishan Tulswani, used to work as a sales manager at his uncle Jeetu's confectionery shops. After the death of his father, Piyush took up his position, the officer said.

Soon, Piyush started embezzling money from the shops, and was fired after Jeetu took note of the act, police said.

His mother also reprimanded him for embezzling money, after which Piyush left home and started living with his friend, the officer said.

Piyush hatched a plot to steal money from his uncle’s shops, which he knew well. Acting on his plan, he took his brother's scooter and broke open each shop, stealing cash, a laptop and a mobile phone.

On January 31, Jeetu reported the matter to police, accusing Piyush of committing burglaries at his shops located in Sector-18, Sector-11, Sector-12 and Sector-4, Dwarka, the officer said.

Jeetu also provided CCTV camera footage from the shops, in which Piyush could be seen breaking them open, he said.

Tracing his mobile phone locations to Safdarjang, Hauz Khas, Rajapuri and Dabri, police conducted several raids.

“He later switched off his phone to restrict access to his location,” the officer said.

On February 13, police received information that Piyush would come to the fruit mandi in Dabri around 9.30 am. Accordingly, a trap was laid, leading to the arrest of the accused, he said.

Initially, he did not confess to the crime, but when police showed him the CCTV clips, he admitted to committing the burglaries, the officer said.