Shashi Tharoor Snubs Rahul, Loyalists Over “Political Desperation”

A day after stating that India had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time in September 2016 to avenge terror attacks on Indian camps, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor snubbed his own party, where he had come under fire from political lightweights for backing the Modi government’s stance on cross-border counter strikes. “I really don’t have time for this,” he said, dismissing the criticism. Like other veteran Congress leaders such as P. Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid, and Anand Sharma, Tharoor had endorsed the new strategy of deterrence through disproportionate response to Pakistan’s proxy wars.

“After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight with a departure for Bogotá, 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 the LoC: in the past” (sic), Tharoor wrote on X on Thursday.

This came hours after several Congress leaders took swipes at him, reminding him of surgical strikes that reportedly took place under the Manmohan Singh government. Congress leader Udit Raj even suggested that the BJP should name Tharoor “super spokesperson”. While his remarks sparked outrage within the Congress, Tharoor found backing from Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.

“What does the Congress party want & how much do they really care for the country? Should Indian MPs go to foreign nations and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There’s a limit to political desperation,” Rijiju posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Tharoor was speaking at an Indian diaspora event in Panama as head of a multi-party delegation, part of the Modi government’s global outreach on terrorism post-Operation Sindoor. “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay… For the first time, India breached the LoC between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launch pad… (after) the Uri strike in September 2016. That was something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the LoC,” he stated.

Interestingly, barring a few leaders close to Nehru family scion Rahul Gandhi, nearly all senior Congress leaders — including former Union Minister P. Chidambaram — have backed the Modi government’s military initiatives against Pakistan following the Pahalgam carnage on 22 April. Similarly, Salman Khurshid and Anand Sharma, both seasoned Congress figures, supported the strategy of deterrence through disproportionate response.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, however, cited a media report claiming that S. Jaishankar, as foreign secretary, had informed a parliamentary committee in October 2016 that “target-specific, limited-calibre, counter-terrorist operations” had been conducted by the Army across the LoC even in the past.

Udit Raj took another swipe at Tharoor, suggesting the BJP should make him External Affairs Minister, as he was doing “a better job than even the BJP spokesperson in defending the government”.

Unfazed by the diatribe from his party colleagues, Tharoor clarified on X: “I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; and 2. 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.”

Without naming the Congress or any specific leader, he added: “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. Goodnight.”

Tharoor also said that during the Balakot strike — in response to the Pulwama terror attack of January 2019 — India had not only crossed the LoC, but also the international border to strike a terrorist headquarters. “This time (in Operation Sindoor), we went beyond both… We struck in the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan,” he said.

The Congress has long claimed that Indian security forces conducted surgical strikes during the UPA era as well, though the party chose not to publicise them. Reacting to Tharoor’s remarks, Udit Raj posted on X: “How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed the LoC and international border?”

As a CWC member, Tharoor has been at the centre of internal party tensions. Rahul Gandhi and his allies were reportedly displeased with the Modi government appointing Tharoor — among others — to head one of seven multi-party delegations for its international outreach. He is the only Congress leader leading a delegation, tasked with visiting Latin America and the US. His remarks following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor have already drawn ire from some within his party.

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