Chidambaram questions BRICS results, colleague Tharoor praises its diplomatic value

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday joined the debate on India's presidency of the BRICS Summit, saying New Delhi hosting the summit offers significant diplomatic value and an opportunity for India to strengthen its engagement with the Global South. He said the summit also showcases India's diplomatic convening power and enhances its prestige on the global stage by bringing together global leaders.The Congress leader's comments came even as party colleague and former finance minister P Chidambaram questioned whether recent BRICS summits had delivered any "tangible benefits" for the country.BJP leaders meanwhile seized the moment to attack Congress, saying party MP Tharoor himself exposed what they called Congress propaganda.Chidambaram had questioned what India was gaining from its membership of BRICS, as well as other multilateral groupings such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20 and QUAD. "I don't think the last two or three BRICS summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results," Chidambaram said. "What benefits are we getting out of that? I can't see. In the last two or three summits, I didn't see any benefits."Responding to a question on the benefits India expects from hosting the summit, Tharoor, who has in recent times taken positions that differ from the Congress line, said BRICS provides an important platform for the Global South. "First of all, we're providing an important platform for the Global South," he said, noting that the 11 BRICS countries represent a majority of the world's population and 41 per cent of global GDP."The Global South is over 100 countries, but here we have 11 key players from the Global South who collectively represent much of the diversity of views, as well as the range of countries that we are essentially chairing on this particular occasion. This grouping, just the 11 BRICS countries, represents a majority of the world's population and 41 per cent of global GDP. It's not a small matter, it's something that has to be taken very seriously by the rest of the world," he observed.Tharoor also pointed to the diplomatic significance of hosting leaders from BRICS member and observer countries."Having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of BRICS, but also some of the observers are coming at presidential and prime ministerial level. This is a matter of great prestige for us," the Congress leader said.He added the summit demonstrated India’s "diplomatic convening power", which he described as having value on the global stage."Not only members of BRICS, but also some of the observers are coming at presidential and prime ministerial level. This is a matter of great prestige for us. It shows a certain diplomatic convening power, which has value in and of itself on the global stage," he continued.However, Tharoor also agreed with Chidambaram that tangible outcomes from BRICS had been limited in recent years."I think he's correct that if you're looking in terms of tangible benefits, there have been none since the one that happened when he was finance minister, namely the establishment of the New Development Bank," he said.Tharoor said the New Development Bank had been a positive outcome and had benefited India through loans for development projects. He also noted that India has an influential voice in the bank."Since then, as I mentioned a little earlier, we have been longer on lofty rhetoric and grand declarations and shorter on tangible measurable outcomes," he said.At the same time, Tharoor said diplomacy cannot always be judged solely by immediately measurable outcomes, arguing that multilateral platforms can provide broader benefits by bringing countries together and demonstrating a country's influence.Tharoor also said the BRICS platform could be used to diversify India’s export markets and channels of communication amid uncertainty in its relationship with the United States.He referred to a US law signed by President Donald Trump that, according to him, authorises 100 per cent sanctions if India continues trading with Russia."If there are 100 per cent sanctions and every Indian item sanctioned, it will be unviable on the American market," Tharoor said, adding, that India therefore needed to consider whether it could use BRICS to diversify its export markets and communication channels.BJP SLAMS CONGRESS OVER BRICS REMARKSTharoor's comments came as the BJP attacked the Congress over Chidambaram's remarks questioning the benefits of hosting the BRICS Summit. The BJP accused the opposition party of being unable to "digest" India's rise on the global stage while calling its leaders "naraz fufas" and "dimagi naxals".BJP national president Nitin Nabin said at a time when the BRICS Summit is about to take place, such statements from Congress leaders are utterly shameful."The Congress is unable to digest India's development. Even after going to foreign lands, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders have continued to humiliate India. Even today, when such a grand international event is happening in the country, they are still pained by it," Nabin told reporters in Rudrapur on the sidelines of a party event.Hitting out at the Congress, he said the people of the country will "punish" the opposition party once again.Sharing Tharoor's remarks, BJP leader Vishnu Vardhan Reddy alleged that the Congress' own leaders had "exposed its propaganda"."Shashi Tharoor acknowledges the immense prestige of India hosting BRICS, dismantling the narrative pushed by Congress's 'Naraz Fufas' against it. Congress can run from facts, but its own leaders keep bringing them back," he wrote on X.The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.- EndsPublished On: Sep 11, 2026 12:16 IST