Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has responded curtly to criticism from his party colleagues over his comments praising the Modi government&rsquo;s response to terrorism, stating that &ldquo;critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views... I genuinely have better things to do.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The remarks were made in a late-night post on X while Tharoor was in Panama as part of a multi-nation delegation trip organised by the Centre following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Tharoor, who is leading a delegation currently en route to Bogota after events in the US and Panama, addressed the backlash on social media. &ldquo;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&rsquo;t really have time for this &mdash; but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; and 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,&rdquo; he wrote.
He concluded the post with, &ldquo;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.&rdquo; Two typographical errors in his post &mdash; &ldquo;midnightvhere&rdquo; and &ldquo;tge&rdquo; &mdash; were noted, interpreted by some as signs of fatigue.
The controversy stems from remarks Tharoor made while addressing a gathering in Panama City. &ldquo;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 &mdash; the Uri strike in September 2015 &mdash; that was already something we had not done before,&rdquo; he said.
He added, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
The comments drew immediate criticism from within his own party. Congress MP Udit Raj remarked, &ldquo;Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP. He is doing Modi ji&rsquo;s chamchagiri more than BJP leaders. Does he even know what the earlier governments used to do? They are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the publicity stunts of the BJP.&rdquo;
Senior Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh also joined the censure. Khera posted a video of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussing surgical strikes conducted during the UPA era and tagged Tharoor with a terse &ldquo;CC.&rdquo; He also posted a report citing External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, who noted that &ldquo;professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations&rdquo; had been conducted across the LoC in the past, but the present government had publicised it for the first time.
Jairam Ramesh, who has previously said Tharoor&rsquo;s statements do not reflect the Congress's position, added a poetic jab, quoting, &ldquo;Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive&hellip;&rdquo;
Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Embassy in Panama, Tharoor had earlier emphasised the importance of standing against terrorism without fear. &ldquo;He (Mahatma Gandhi) also taught us in his brave leadership in our struggle for freedom that we must always stand up for our rights. We must always stand up in principle for the values we believe in, and we must live without fear &mdash; that freedom from fear is what we in India have to fight for these days against the evil attacks of malign men who are called by the world as terrorists, but who believe that by doing this kind of thing of coming into our country, killing innocent people and going off again that they will somehow achieve some larger political or religious cause,&rdquo; he said.
Tharoor&rsquo;s journey within the Congress has included multiple clashes with the leadership. He was removed as the party spokesperson in 2014 after writing an article in praise of Prime Minister Modi. In 2022, he was part of the G-23 group of senior leaders who demanded structural reforms in the party, several of whom have since exited. Later that year, he contested the Congress presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge. Despite Kharge&rsquo;s strong backing from the Gandhi family, Tharoor received over 1,000 votes.
While Tharoor&rsquo;s articulation of India&rsquo;s stance post-Pahalgam drew some praise, the Congress leadership has distanced itself from his remarks. Initially supportive of the government&rsquo;s action following the terror attack, the Congress has since shifted tone, demanding transparency on the ceasefire and questioning the role of the United States.
At a recent high-level meeting, the party leadership reportedly expressed concern over Tharoor&rsquo;s independent commentary. A party source stated, &ldquo;We are a democratic party and people keep expressing their opinion, but this time, Tharoor has crossed the Lakshman Rekha.&rdquo; The source indicated that leaders are expected to echo the party line rather than personal views.
Tharoor has stated that he made the comments in a personal capacity and not as a party spokesperson. His inclusion in the seven-member Indian delegation currently travelling abroad was a government decision, with Congress clarifying it did not propose his name. Tharoor, a former diplomat, responded by saying the party is entitled to its opinion of his abilities and affirmed his commitment to fulfilling the responsibilities assigned to him.
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Amid Congress backlash over his remarks on strikes, Tharoor says critics may distort views, but he won't engage.

Tharoor to Critics: “I Have Better Things to Do”

Amid Congress backlash over his remarks on strikes, Tharoor says critics may distort views, but he won't engage.

May 29, 2025 | 18:24 IST

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