Following the backlash over a speech delivered at a pro-Palestine rally, a Muslim Jamaaths’ body, the Mahal Empowerment Mission (MEM), on Friday removed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from its scheduled Palestine solidarity event.

The decision came after a controversy that erupted following Tharoor’s statement at a rally organised by Congress’ allly Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to showcase solidarity with Palestine. During his speech, the Congress MP equated the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel with a terrorist strike. This statement drew flak as CPI(M) leader M Swaraj said, “Tharoor is not a man who does not know the meaning of words. He is also not a person who was unaware that history had not begun on October 7.”

“We have communicated to Tharoor that we have decided to remove him from the programme,” MEM president Shajahan Sreekaryam told PTI.

The IUML event was organised in Kerala’s Kozhikode on Thursday in order to denounce the reported indiscriminate killings of civilians, including women and children, in Gaza. Several IUML supporter joined the rally, in which Tharoor was present as a chief guest.

While emphasising the imperative of ending the conflict, the Congress MP also condemned the attack by Hamas on Israel, describing it as an ‘act of terror’.

Bemused by the reaction, Tharoor said out of his 32-minute speech, only 25 seconds were highlighted to attack him. “If that’s all it takes to negate my support for the human rights of the Palestinian people, then I have nothing more to say,” he said. He also issued a clarification saying that he has always been with the people of Palestine and he does not agree with the propagation of just one sentence from his speech at the IUML rally.