Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back at critics within his own party over comments he made endorsing the BJP-led Centre’s handling of Operation Sindoor, asserting that his remarks were “distorted” and misrepresented.
Posting on X from Panama, where he’s leading an all-party parliamentary delegation, Tharoor clarified that his comments specifically referred to reprisals for terrorist attacks, not broader military history or earlier wars.
“For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC in the past, I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars,” he wrote.
He went on to explain that India’s responses under previous governments were marked by “restraint and respect for the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB),” in contrast to the current government’s more assertive stance following terror strikes.
Tharoor also took a swipe at social media trolls and internal detractors, stating:
“Critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do.”
His remarks drew fierce backlash from party colleague Udit Raj, who accused Tharoor of glorifying Prime Minister Modi’s “fake surgical strikes” and maligning Congress’s history.
“He is trying to erase the contributions of the Congress and glorify Modi. The credit for any operation should go to the Army,” Raj stated, suggesting that Tharoor should even face suspension from the party.
Raj wasn’t alone in voicing dissent. Prominent Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh also supported the criticism, indicating internal unrest within the party.
Notably, Tharoor’s inclusion in the high-level diplomatic delegation to the US, Guyana, Panama, and Colombia was reportedly not among the Congress’s official recommendations, hinting at unease over his growing independent stature.
The controversy stems from Tharoor’s remarks that India crossed the LoC for the first time in September 2015, widely seen as an endorsement of Modi government’s counter-terrorism approach, including the 2016 surgical strikes.
This intra-party clash comes at a sensitive time as the Congress seeks to project unity ahead of national elections while managing ideological differences within its ranks.
As Tharoor departs for Colombia with the delegation, the episode underscores both the fragile fault lines within the Congress and the delicate balancing act between national interest, party loyalty, and personal diplomacy.