NEW DELHI, May 29— Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has triggered internal backlash within his party after remarks aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s narrative on cross-border military operations against Pakistan, particularly the 2016 Uri and 2019 Balakot strikes.
Speaking from Panama, where he is leading a government delegation as part of the Operation Sindoor outreach, Tharoor praised India’s recent military posture. “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay,” he said. “When, for the first time, India breached the LoC to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base — the Uri strike in 2016 — that was something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil conflict, we had not crossed the LoC.”
He added, “After the Pulwama attack in 2019, we crossed not only the LoC but also the International Border, striking deep into the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan. This marked a new approach.”
Tharoor’s comments immediately drew fire from senior Congress leaders who viewed his statements as contradicting the party’s long-held stance that India had carried out covert surgical strikes under the UPA government but chose not to politicize them.
Congress leader Udit Raj took a sharp dig at Tharoor, saying, “He should be declared a super spokesperson of the BJP, even foreign minister before he returns to India.” AICC media head Pawan Khera endorsed Raj’s criticism by posting an old video clip of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh referencing earlier surgical strikes.
“Many surgical strikes were conducted under the UPA,” Khera posted on X, tagging Tharoor. Raj further questioned how Tharoor could “denigrate the golden history of his party by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed the LoC and the IB.”
“Let’s not forget,” Raj added, “in 1965, the Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points in the Lahore sector. In 1971, India tore Pakistan into two pieces. During UPA rule, surgical strikes were also carried out, but there was no drum-beating for political gain.”
The BJP, seizing the moment, suggested Congress was punishing Tharoor for putting national interest before party lines. “For Congress, anyone who puts national interest above party and family interest becomes persona non grata,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said. “Udit Raj is attacking Tharoor at Rahul Gandhi’s behest because Tharoor is exposing their falsehoods on mediation.”
The row comes amid fresh questions from Congress over Prime Minister Modi’s silence on reported U.S. mediation efforts. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh cited U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick’s court filing in New York, claiming former President Donald Trump used tariff leverage to broker a temporary ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
“Is it true that President Trump helped engineer a ceasefire using tariff power? He claimed this eight times in 11 days across three countries,” Ramesh asked. “Now Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also referring to a neutral site for India-Pakistan talks. Pradhan mantri chuppi todo.”
