# Tharoor counters PM Modi’s jibe, says Rahul Gandhi ignites youth enthusiasm 2026-10-23T13:26:40+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Friday, 23 October 2026, that party colleague Rahul Gandhi has ignited enthusiasm among younger voters over the last few months. Speaking at NDTV's World Summit 2026, Tharoor advised the BJP to 'sit up and pay attention' to the shift in public mood. He added that he suspects the BJP is trying to demonise Gandhi because they are taking him seriously. Tharoor's remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without naming Gandhi, called him a 'failed product' at the same summit. Modi said the Congress puts the country's reputation at stake to protect its leadership and compared its attempts to launch Gandhi to rocket launches from Sriharikota. Tharoor also dismissed Modi's claim of a lack of internal democracy in the Congress, citing his own experience of holding contrary views while remaining a party member. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The three outlets uniformly report the exchange as a direct political clash between PM Modi and Shashi Tharoor, with no discernible slant favouring or criticising either side. NDTV and Hindustan Times lead with Tharoor's rebuttal, while ABP Live frames it as a response to Modi's jibe. All three quote Tharoor attributing BJP's criticism to Rahul Gandhi's rising popularity among youth. The coverage is consistent, straight reporting without editorialising. No source offers independent evidence of youth enthusiasm or questions Tharoor's claim. The next concrete point is Rahul Gandhi's ongoing nationwide youth outreach campaign and protests against the Chief Election Commissioner. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - ndtv.com (neutral report) Leads with Tharoor's counter to Modi's jibe - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Leads with Tharoor's remarks and Gandhi's campaign - abplive.com (neutral report) Frames as Tharoor's response and internal democracy This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: BJP, Congress, Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/tharoor-counters-pm-modis-jibe-says-rahul-gandhi-ignites-youth-enthusiasm/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/tharoor-counters-pm-modis-jibe-says-rahul-gandhi-ignites-youth-enthusiasm/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/