Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s remarks in Panama City, praising India’s cross-border counterterrorism strikes under the Modi government, have drawn criticism from his party colleague Udit Raj. Tharoor stated that terrorists have begun to realise attacks on India will incur consequences.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s remarks during a diplomatic visit to Panama City on India’s recent cross-border counterterrorism operations have triggered a sharp response from his party colleague, Udit Raj. Speaking at an event as part of India’s diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, Tharoor said terrorists had come to realise in recent years that attacks on India would now invite a cost, a comment seen as praising the Modi government’s security response.
‘India has changed its posture’: Tharoor on cross-border strikes
Speaking at the Panama event, Tharoor said India had shifted from a posture of appealing for international support after terror attacks to one of direct response. He cited the 2008 Mumbai attacks as a turning point in India’s counterterrorism experience, recalling the capture of Ajmal Kasab and the extensive evidence against Pakistan-based handlers that, according to him, failed to bring about any convictions across the border. “We have suffered attack after attack for almost four decades… It is not acceptable for us to just bear the grief and then seek help from the international community. That era is behind us,” Tharoor said.
Referring to the September 2016 surgical strike post-Uri attack and the February 2019 Balakot airstrikes after Pulwama, Tharoor said, “For the first time, India breached the Line of Control to strike a terror base. Later, we went beyond even the international border, hitting terror headquarters deep inside Pakistan. This was unprecedented.”
He also referenced Operation Sindoor, carried out on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. “These terrorists wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women… Our Prime Minister made it clear that the vermilion colour would match the blood of the killers,” he said.
Udit Raj hits back: ‘Tharoor flouting party line, echoing BJP’
Tharoor’s remarks, which appeared to endorse the government’s recent military operations and posture against Pakistan-based terror, drew criticism from Congress leader Udit Raj. “Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP. He is doing Modi ji’s chamchagiri (flattery) more than BJP leaders themselves,” Raj told news agency ANI. “Does he even know what earlier governments used to do? They are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the BJP’s publicity stunts.”
Raj, a former BJP MP who joined the Congress, also questioned Tharoor’s understanding of past military and diplomatic responses under Congress-led governments.
Leadership unease over Tharoor’s role in diplomatic outreach
This is not the first time Tharoor’s statements on India-Pakistan issues have put him at odds with the party leadership. His selection to lead one of the seven Indian parliamentary delegations tasked with conveying India’s position abroad had previously sparked internal friction. Congress had publicly stated that Tharoor was not among the four MPs it had nominated, although Tharoor later said the party was entitled to its opinion.
The Congress leadership has maintained distance from some of Tharoor’s past remarks on India’s military actions, including during earlier phases of India-Pakistan tensions.
