custom-ads

Shashi Tharoor’s ‘first cross border strike’ claim pits him against other Congress leaders

Congress leader Dr Udit Raj accused Tharoor of ignoring history and labelled him a “super BJP spokesperson”.

South First Desk

Published May 29, 2025 | 4:37 PM ⚊ Updated May 29, 2025 | 4:37 PM

Shashi Tharoor’s ‘first cross border strike’ claim pits him against other Congress leaders

Shashi Tharoor addresses the Indian community in Panama.

Synopsis: Veteran Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sparked backlash by crediting the Modi government with launching India’s first cross-border strikes in retaliation for terrorism, during a speech in Panama City. His remarks, interpreted as praise for the BJP, drew sharp criticism from Congress leaders, reigniting tensions with his party. Tharoor later clarified that he was referring only to post-terror attack reprisals, not to previous wars or covert operations.

Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has triggered a fresh conflict within his own party by claiming that the Modi government was the first to carry out cross-border strikes in response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

The remarks were made during a public address in Panama City on Wednesday, 28 May. Tharoor is currently leading one of seven all-party delegations sent abroad to articulate India’s position on terrorism in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

“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 launch pad – the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before,” Tharoor said, ANI reported.

“Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did. 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.”

He continued:

“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.”

The remarks were immediately seen as an endorsement of the Modi government – and at the cost of Tharoor’s own party, prompting swift backlash from Congress supporters on social media.

Notably, it also drew criticism from Tharoor’s party colleagues, just months after his public spat with the Congress, amid reports of his dissatisfaction and speculation about a potential move to the BJP.

Also Read: Shashi Tharoor hints at ‘options’ beyond Congress, kicks off controversy in Kerala

Tharoor a ‘BJP spokesperson’

Congress leader Dr Udit Raj accused Tharoor of ignoring history and labelled him a “super BJP spokesperson”.

“Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP, even declaring as foreign minister before landing in India. How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed LoC and international border?” he wrote in a post on X, on Wednesday.

“In 1965, Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points, which completely surprised the Pakistanis in the Lahore sector. In 1971, India tore Pakistan in two pieces. And during UPA Govt several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash politically. How could you be so dishonest to the party which gave you so much?”

Veteran Congress leader and Communications Chief Jairam Ramesh retweeted Dr Raj’s post, while party spokesperson Pawan Khera cited a previous statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 strikes to counter Tharoor.

“Professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public,” Jaishankar said this to the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs in October 2016,” Khera wrote in a post on X.

“CC: Shashi Tharoor.”

In a separate post, Khera also shared an excerpt from Tharoor’s own 2018 book, The Paradoxical Prime Minister, to highlight to suggest a shift in Tharoor’s stance on the ruling government.

“Shameless exploitation along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool – something the Congress had never done despite having authorised several such strikes earlier – marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,” the excerpt reads.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: India refrains from confirming aircraft losses, says all pilots are safe

‘Trolls are welcome to distort my views’

Amid growing criticism, Tharoor issued a late-night clarification from Panama:

“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,” he wrote.

“For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past – 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; and 2. 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.”

He continued: “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.”

Tharoor’s diplomatic tour to six countries in the Americas follows Operation Sindoor, as part of an effort to consolidate international support. He is leading one of seven all-party delegations sent to key countries.

Notably, the Congress had not proposed Tharoor’s name for the delegation. The party had instead nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

However, Tharoor accepted the Union government’s offer to lead one of the teams – a move seen as diverging from the party’s preference.

(Edited by Dese Gowda)

Follow us