Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading the Indian delegation to expose Pakistan's terror links
In what marks another flashpoint in Shashi Tharoor's worsening ties with the Congress, the senior leader has responded sharply to his party colleagues' jibes after he praised the Narendra Modi government's fight against terrorism. "Critics and trolls", he said, are welcome to distort his views and that he has "better things to do". Shortly after Mr Tharoor's post, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera shared an excerpt from Mr Tharoor's book in which he criticised the "shameless exploitation" of the 2016 surgical strikes as an "election tool".
Mr Tharoor is heading an Indian delegation as part of the Centre's global outreach in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. After events in the US and Panama, the delegation is now headed to Bogota.
"After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this - but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across tge LoC (sic):
"I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; and my remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB," he said in a post on X.
"But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do." Mr Tharoor, who ended his message with a terse "goodnight", let slip two typos in his post; many read this as a sign of his fatigue.
Mr Tharoor's remarks after the Pahalgam attack and the India-Pakistan conflict have endeared him to the critics and a section of the government, but the Congress is not amused. Senior leaders have earlier said the four-time MP's remarks do not reflect Congress's stand and there have been murmurs about Mr Tharoor "crossing the line".
Yesterday, while addressing a gathering in Panama City, Mr Tharoor said terrorists targeting India have realised in recent years that they will have to pay. "What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay. On that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launchpad - the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before."
"Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places," he said.
The remarks drew a jibe from Congress leader Udit Raj. "Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP. He doing Modi ji's chamchagiri (flattery) more than BJP leaders. Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the earlier governments used to do? ... They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the publicity stunts of the BJP," Mr Raj said.
Shortly after, senior Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh joined the offensive against Mr Tharoor, making it clear that the Congress high command has taken note. Mr Khera tagged Mr Tharoor in a video in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says that many surgical strikes were conducted during the UPA era. He just added a "CC". Mr Khera added another news report, quoting External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar as saying that "professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations" have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public.
Mr Ramesh, who has earlier said Mr Tharoor's remarks don't represent the party stand, added a poem to take a jibe. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive..., he said.
Shashi Tharoor has had a chequered journey in the Congress, with several run-ins with the leadership. A former Union minister, he was removed as the party's spokesperson in 2014 after he praised Prime Minister Modi in an article. In 2022, he was part of a rebellion by 23 senior party leaders that called for key organisational changes. Many of these leaders have since left Congress. Later that year, Mr Tharoor contested against Mallikarjun Kharge for the party president's post. While Mr Kharge, who had the tacit support of the Gandhi family, won comfortably, Mr Tharoor got over 1,000 votes, an impressive feat for anyone taking on a "Gandhi-approved" candidate.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, he spoke to several national and international platforms. While his remarks made headlines and even his critics praised him for his articulation of the Indian position, the Congress leadership is not happy.
The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre in its action against those behind the Pahalgam terror attack, has now changed tack and asked the government to come clean on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the US played in it.
Earlier, the high command sent a message to Mr Tharoor at a meeting of top leaders. "We are a democratic party and people keep expressing their opinion, but this time, Tharoor has crossed the Lakshman Rekha," a party source said. The sources said the leadership sent a "clear message" that leaders must focus on amplifying the party's stand instead of expressing individual opinions.
Mr Tharoor has said he has made the remarks in a personal capacity and that he is not a party spokesperson.
Against this backdrop, the government selected Mr Tharoor to lead one of the seven Indian delegations travelling abroad as part of the outreach. The Congress said it had not suggested Mr Tharoor's name. The former diplomat said the party is entitled to have an opinion of his abilities and that he will fulfill the responsibility assigned to him.
