Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, May 29: In a clear sign of growing rift within the Congress, party MP Shashi Tharoor hit out at his detractors, calling them “zealots” and “trolls”, after facing backlash for his remarks praising India’s cross-border military strikes under the current government.
Tharoor, who is leading the Indian outreach on ‘Operation Sindoor’ as part of a multi-party delegation abroad, defended his statement that India had, for the first time, crossed the LoC during the 2016 Uri surgical strike and later the international border after the 2019 Pulwama attack. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Panama, he said, “This time, India went beyond both the LoC and the IB and struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases in nine places.”
The remarks did not sit well with his own party. Congress leaders including Pawan Khera and Udit Raj publicly countered Tharoor’s claims, reminding him of similar military actions under past Congress governments. Khera posted a clip of former PM Manmohan Singh referencing UPA-era surgical strikes, while Raj accused Tharoor of erasing the “golden history” of the Congress.
Tharoor, in a late-night post from Panama before flying to Colombia, dismissed the criticism. “For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance... I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks,” he clarified. “Critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views... I genuinely have better things to do.”
The incident reflects increasing tension between Tharoor and the Congress leadership, with his remarks adding strain to already uneasy party ties.