New Delhi, June 19 (AHN) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday stated that for the US-Iran peace deal to sustain, both sides should feel that "they have won", while highlighting that apart from Tehran and Washington, the deal comes as a relief for all those nations, including India, who were reeling with the impact of the West Asia crisis.

During an exclusive interaction with AHN, Tharoor also raised questions on the viability of having 850 MPs in the Lok Sabha if the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, is passed by the Parliament.

Following are some excerpts from the interview:

AHN: Your take on the US-Iran peace deal?

Tharoor: You know, in all peace deals, everyone has to feel they have won, otherwise a peace will never last. You cannot have a peace deal that essentially involves the surrender of one side... going back to Versailles after the First World War, which led to the Second World War. So, you don't want to create a situation where this peace doesn't last because one side is made to feel humiliated. So as far as I'm concerned, the best peace agreement is one where both sides can give something to their own public, and the rest of the world can have its own analysis.

But if you look, for example, at the Americans, they can say, see, Iran will no longer enrich uranium. They have pledged in the MoU to dilute their enriched uranium under the supervision of the IAEA. Iran, on the other hand, has also got something that they can point to, like getting relief from sanctions, unfreezing of assets in the West, and reconstruction assistance to repair war damage in the country.

Meanwhile, the whole world has suffered rising oil prices, scarcity of commodities, fuel crisis, etc., all sorts of things have been affected by the closure of the Strait (of Hormuz). So, the whole world can say that we have all gained and can now get back to peace.

It won't be happening instantly, by the way, because, for example, the Strait of Hormuz is still mined. (US President) Donald Trump has said that oil can start flowing, but first, Iran has to remove all the mines.

Many oil and gas facilities were destroyed during the war; they will have to be repaired, rebuilt and come back on stream. Doesn't happen overnight.

So, I think we are all still going to have a rough time for a few more months. If this peace lasts, we should be able to get back in about a year or a year and a half's time to where we were before the war.

AHN: The Delimitation and Women's Reservation Bill failed to pass through the Lok Sabha in April. There are reports that it may be reintroduced in the Monsoon Session.

Tharoor: Can we really have a Parliament with a strength of 850? Is there any Parliament in the world with 850 people? No, it does not exist.

The US population has increased three times, but the total strength of the House of Representatives stands at 435 because they know that if a house is too big, it won't be meaningful.

Today, if the Indian Parliament has 850 members, there will be large numbers who will not get a chance to speak in zero hour, never raise a constituency issue, and never participate in a debate. It's already a challenge with 543; with 850, it will literally be impossible.

In America, all states, whether big or small, have two Senators each... Is that an option we can consider in India? Then the states' Upper House will work as a balancing house.

Another idea, the European Union has 27 states, and we have 28. The EU says that smaller states will have the minimum number of MPs, and the biggest states will have the maximum. So, a ceiling and a floor. Should we try something like that? So the gap between say, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim will not be totally unreasonable, where Sikkim's voice is essentially not heard in the Parliament.

These are the questions that need to be asked, discussed and worked out, instead of just randomly going in haste for a 50 per cent increase.

850 is a joke; it cannot be a serious Parliament.

AHN: PM Modi has recently become the longest-serving Prime Minister in India's history. What do you have to say on that?

Tharoor: Not exactly the longest serving Prime Minister, longest serving continuously elected Prime Minister.

I think we all recognise that he has a tremendous amount of dynamism and energy, that he has a vision. Whether you agree with that vision or not, he articulates a vision. He is a powerful orator, perhaps one of the best orators this country has seen in Hindi.

He reaches out particularly to those who speak that language, he has a very compelling presence on the national stage, and undoubtedly, he has been able to leave his stamp on many aspects of Indian life, society, and politics, no doubt about that.

However, from the Opposition's side, we have witnessed negatives as well. We are concerned about growing disunity within the country, the communal divide, and a lot of political rhetoric that is being encouraged by the ruling party and their followers, in ways that have unfortunately alienated significant sections of the population.

There are real concerns in many ways about the manner in which the independent autonomous institutions of our democracy have been hollowed out in the course of these last 12 years.

Personally, I think he has done a lot of things right, but this period has also witnessed a number of things that are not so good for India.

AHN: Your take on the splitting up of the Trinamool Congress?

Tharoor: I don't think anyone has any doubt that either some inducements, some incentives or some threats have been involved. And that can only come from the ruling party because they have the power.

Also, as you know, the biggest group that split away, namely the 20 MPs of the Trinamool Congress, have openly said they will now align with the NDA. These are the same party MPs who have been attacking the NDA day in and day out for the last 12 years. So, suddenly, to find all this virtue suggests that our country's politics has become a politics without principles. And that is rather sad.

Have your convictions, work constructively together. I have always said the other side is not your enemy; they are your adversary, and your job is to work for the collective interest of the country.

AHN: There are allegations of misappropriation of money offerings at Ayodhya's Ram Temple.

Tharoor: It is really shocking. The temples are a matter of faith. You go there, pray to God and donate something to God. When you give something in the hundi, place before the Lord as the offering ('chadhava'), it is meant for the temple. It is for a divine purpose, and it means that it must be used entirely only for the temple and not for any other purpose.

When you discover that not just lakhs but crores may have been siphoned away, it is such a betrayal of trust and a violation of faith that I was shocked, and most devout Hindus would be truly feeling betrayed that such a thing would happen.

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