'If you don't understand my silence ...': Fresh rift within Congress? Manish Tewari responds to question on cryptic post

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday added fuel to speculation about internal rifts within the party after posting a cryptic message on social media. Without naming anyone directly, Tewari shared a pointed quote outside Parliament: "There is a saying in English -- 'If you don't understand my silences, you will never understand my words.'"

#WATCH | On his tweet, Congress MP Manish Tewari says, "There is a saying in English- 'If you don't understand my silences, you will never understand my words'. " pic.twitter.com/r1MsSt4wgZ

— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2025

The remark came just hours after he posted patriotic lyrics from the iconic Manoj Kumar film Purab Aur Pachhim: "Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada, Main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon, Bharat ka rehne waala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon."

है प्रीत जहां की रीत सदा

मैं गीत वहां के गाता हूं

भारत का रहने वाला हूं

भारत की बात सुनाता हूं

Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada

Main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon

Bharat ka rehne waala hoon

Bharat ki baat sunata hoon

- Jai Hind pic.twitter.com/tP5VjiH2aD

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) July 29, 2025

He, in the end of the post, added "Jai Hind."

The timing of Tewari's silence is noteworthy. During Monday's marathon Lok Sabha session on Operation Sindoor -- India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack , the Chandigarh MP was not given a chance to speak in ongoing Monsoon session . Many expected him to weigh in, given his background and past engagement on national security issues.

Tewari wasn't the only notable Congress voice absent from the discussion. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also did not participate. According to ANI, fellow MP and party colleague Gaurav Gogoi approached Tharoor to join the debate, but he declined. When pressed by media on Monday, Tharoor brushed aside questions with a terse: "Maunvrat, Maunvrat."

Both Tewari and Tharoor had been part of the BJP-led government's post-Operation Sindoor outreach to convey India's position on terrorism to the global community. But since then, Tharoor has reportedly faced internal criticism from the Congress high command for his involvement, and his silence appears to reflect tensions within party leadership.

Now, Tewari's own silence and symbolic messaging have raised fresh questions about discord among senior Congress leaders -- and whether the party is struggling to present a unified stance on a critical issue of national security.