Shashi Tharoor faced backlash for his comments condemning Hamas’ attack on Israel. The Mahal Empowerment Mission (MEM), a Muslim Jamaath’s body, decided to remove him from the upcoming pro-Palestine rally. This decision came in the wake of controversy surrounding Tharoor’s speech at an event organized by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in support of Palestine. During his speech, Tharoor likened Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel to a terrorist act, which sparked criticism. MEM president Shajahan Sreekaryam confirmed the decision to remove Tharoor from the program. Tharoor expressed his bemusement at the reaction, stating that only 25 seconds of his 32-minute speech were highlighted to attack him. He clarified that he has consistently supported the Palestinian people and disagreed with the focus on a single sentence from his speech at the IUML rally.
