'I am always late' | Shashi Tharoor quotes poet to take a dig at PM Modi amid NEET paper leak row

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday invoked a Pakistani poet to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter announced fast-track courts to deal with the NEET paper leak cases. Quoting Punjabi and Urdu poet Munir Niazi, Tharoor wrote an Urdu couplet (sher) on X: “I am always late in doing everything — whether it’s saying something important or keeping a promise.”

The couplet is among the most recognisable in Urdu poetry and forms the opening verse of Niazi’s poem ‘Hamesha Der Kar Deta Hoon Main’. The poem has over the years acquired a political afterlife.

Niazi himself recited the poem at several mushairas and literary gatherings, including a widely circulated 1987 performance that continues to be shared on social media whenever the verse returns to public discourse. Music, couplet and poem recitations, and songs have been part of the Jantar Mantar protests since the beginning. The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leaks and seeking greater accountability in the examination system.

Tharoor’s dig over the delayed announcement for fast-track courts in the NEET paper leak case came amid intense nationwide protests by students and political parties, especially in Delhi. The protests took a violent turn on July 20 when students started marching towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar and clashed with the police.