Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 29: Mr Shashi Tharoor’s ties with the Congress may be at a crossroads as the discord between him and the party intensified over his remarks on the surgical strike in 2016 across the Line of Control (LoC) after the former diplomat claimed at a meeting in Panama that India had “crossed the LoC to target Pakistani terror launch pads for the first time” in response to the Uri terror attacks.
Mr Tharoor, who is currently leading a Parliamentary delegation abroad, described his critics as “zealots” and “trolls,” while attempting to contextualise his statement in a social media post. He clarified that he was specifically referring to cross-border action taken in response to terrorist attacks and not to conventional warfare or earlier military operations.
“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,” Mr Tharoor wrote. He added that his remarks had been prefaced by reference to India’s “restrained” and “constrained” responses in earlier incidents due to “responsible respect for the LoC and the IB (International Border).”
However, the clarification did little to quell criticism within his party. Pawan Khera, chairperson of the Congress’ media and publicity department, reposted an excerpt from Mr Tharoor’s own 2018 book ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi and His India,’ in which he had accused the BJP of politicising military operations.
Mr Khera has posted a photograph of a highlighted passage where Mr Tharoor has accused the Narendra Modi government of “repeatedly using the army in its political propaganda.” “The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes’ along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as party election tool-something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier-marked particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national Security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,” he has written.
In the accompanying post, Mr Khera said, “I agree with what Dr Shashi Tharoor writes about surgical strikes in his book ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’.” The Paradoxical Prime Minister, “The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan… marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,” the excerpt read. Mr Khera remarked, “I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018.”
Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress chief Udit Raj was more scathing in his criticism, dubbing Mr Tharoor a “super spokesperson of the BJP” n a social media post on Wednesday. The post was subsequently reposted by both Mr Khera and Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, suggesting a degree of endorsement. Mr Tharoor, unfazed, responded, “Critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do.”
Adding to the debate, Mr Udit Raj reiterated that the Indian Army had conducted multiple surgical strikes during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure but these were never publicised by the Congress-led government. “The Army carried out a splendid “Operation Sindoor,” salute to it. Which surgical strike did the BJP carry out, which it is promoting?” he asked.
Following Mr Tharoor’s remarks in Panama, in which he praised the Narendra Modi government’s response to terrorism, Mr Khera has been posting on X about how surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA era too and tagging Mr Tharoor on these posts. Mr Khera is among the key figures in the Congress high command. So, the message to Mr Tharoor is clear: the party is not happy with him. Mr Tharoor has led an Indian delegation to the US and four other countries as part of the Centre’s global outreach in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. After events in the US and Panama, the delegation is now headed to Bogota.
Taking note of his party colleagues’ jibes, the four-time MP put out a post on X. “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 (sic).
“I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; & 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. 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 said.
Yesterday, while addressing a gathering in Panama City, Mr Tharoor said terrorists targeting India have realised in recent years that they will have to pay. “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay. On that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launchpad – the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before.”
“Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places,” he had said.
Shashi Tharoor has had a chequered journey in the Congress, with several run-ins with the leadership. A former Union minister, he was removed as the party’s spokesperson in 2014 after he praised Prime Minister Modi in an article. In 2022, he was part of a rebellion by 23 senior party leaders that called for key organisational changes. Many of these leaders have since left Congress. Later that year, Mr Tharoor contested against Mallikarjun Kharge for the party president’s post. While Mr Kharge, who had the tacit support of the Gandhi family, won comfortably, Mr Tharoor got over 1,000 votes, an impressive feat for anyone taking on a “Gandhi-approved” candidate.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, he spoke to several national and international platforms. While his remarks made headlines and even his critics praised him for his articulation of the Indian position, the Congress leadership is not happy.