New Delhi, June 26 -- A day after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared a cryptic post signalling strained ties within the party, fellow Congress MP Manickam Tagore took a a pointed swipe at the Thiruvananthapuram MP, saying that "even a free bird must watch the skies."

Tagore's remarks came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's veiled jibe at Tharoor, in which he said, "Some people say Modi first, country later." Shortly after, Tharoor posted on X a photo of a bird with the caption, "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one."

Responding to this, Tagore wrote on X, "Don't ask permission to fly. Birds don't need clearance to rise... But in today even a free bird must watch the skies--hawks, vult...