New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday dismissed criticism over his recent comments about India’s surgical strikes, clarifying that his remarks were being misrepresented. Tharoor stated he was specifically referring to the 2016 retaliatory operation across the Line of Control (LoC) following the Uri terror attack, not to past wars or military actions.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor said, “I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks, not about previous wars.” He added that his remarks were in the context of India’s traditionally restrained responses and respect for the LoC and International Border in earlier years.
He further wrote, “Critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do.” Tharoor made the post from Panama while on an official visit and noted he was en route to Colombia.
The Controversial Remark
The controversy erupted after Tharoor, speaking as part of an all-party delegation earlier in the week, said:
“For the first time, India breached the Line of Control to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base after the Uri attack in September 2016. That was something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the LoC.”
Congress Reacts
Tharoor’s remarks drew strong reactions from within his own party. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera countered the statement by referencing a media report, quoting then-Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s 2016 briefing to a parliamentary committee, which indicated that India had previously conducted similar “target-specific, limited-calibre, counter-terrorist operations” across the LoC.
Congress leader Udit Raj sarcastically suggested that the BJP should appoint Tharoor as External Affairs Minister, saying he was doing a better job defending the government than the BJP’s own spokespeople. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh also backed Udit Raj’s criticism.
BJP Reacts
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress was targeting Tharoor because he “exposed Pakistan” and had previously contested party elections against the Gandhi family’s preferred candidate. “The First Family is taking revenge on him. They hate talent and anyone who puts India above the family,” Poonawalla claimed in a video message posted on X.
