Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has hit back at critics within his own party after facing backlash for praising the Narendra Modi government's response to terrorism, particularly its decision to carry out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC).
Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party Indian delegation as part of the Centre's global outreach following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, said he has “better things to do” than respond to “critics and trolls” who he claims have distorted his remarks.
Addressing the controversy, Tharoor clarified that his comments about India’s surgical strikes were specifically in reference to retaliatory actions following terrorist attacks, not past military conflicts.
Responding to the criticism, Tharoor said, "After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here 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 the LoC in the past - 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars,” he said in a post on 'X'.
"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," Tharoor said.
"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," he added.
Tharoor had earlier noted that India, for the first time, breached the LoC to strike a terror base—something he called unprecedented in terms of India's prior restraint. His comments sparked criticism from some Congress colleagues, who saw them as an unnecessary endorsement of the Modi-led government's national security policies.
Tharoor’s recent remarks has triggered sharp criticism from within the Congress, with several senior leaders accusing him of undermining the party’s military legacy and aligning too closely with the ruling BJP’s narrative.
Reacting to Tharoor's remark that India had, “for the first time,” breached the Line of Control (LoC) to carry out surgical strikes, Congress leader Udit Raj on Wednesday accused him of dishonesty toward the party. In a strongly worded post on X, Raj wrote: “My dear Shashi Tharoor, Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP, even declaring [you] as foreign minister before landing in India. How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed the LoC and international border?”
Citing examples, Raj said the Indian Army had entered Pakistan at multiple points during the 1965 war, surprising Pakistani forces in the Lahore sector. He also referenced the 1971 war, when India played a decisive role in the creation of Bangladesh, and noted that several surgical strikes took place under the UPA government—albeit without the accompanying "drum beating" for political gain.
“How could you be so dishonest to the party which gave you so much?” asked Raj, who is chairman of the Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress (Other Than Professionals).
Raj’s post was reposted by Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh and the party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, signalling coordinated disapproval.
Khera, in a separate post, shared a historic photograph of Indian Army officers from the 4 Sikh Regiment outside a captured Pakistani police station in Burki during the 1965 war. He added context to the image, pointing out that Burki is a village southeast of Lahore, located just 11 km from the city's Allama Iqbal International Airport.
In another post, Khera cited a media report quoting former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying that multiple surgical strikes were carried out under the UPA regime. “Former PM Manmohan Singh: Many surgical strikes conducted under UPA. CC @ShashiTharoor,” Khera posted, a message that was also reshared by Ramesh.
Meanwhile, Tharoor has found support from an unlikely quarter. Union Minister and senior BJP leader Kiren Rijiju came out in defence of the Congress MP, while turning the heat on Tharoor’s party.
Taking to X, Rijiju criticised the Congress for targeting Tharoor over his remarks during an international visit and questioned the party’s approach to national interest. “What does the Congress party want and how much do they really care for the country? Should Indian MPs go to a foreign nation and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There’s a limit to political desperation,” Rijiju posted.
(With inputs from PTI)