Op Sindoor: Tharoor praises Modi; Congress leader calls him BJP's 'super spokesperson'

Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor has come under the scanner of his own party after his remarks at an all-party delegation meeting with the Indian community in Panama went viral.

In the meeting, he had been outspoken about the importance of India's fight back against Pakistan's sponsored terrorism, while praising the Narendra Modi government's actions in different retaliatory strikes such as Uri and Operation Sindoor.

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This was seen by the Congress leadership as his support for the ruling government, and thus brought stern remarks from them.

What Tharoor said

Tharoor, who is heading an all-party delegation to the US on Operation Sindoor, said India's action was mandated by the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Addressing the Indian community in Panama City, Tharoor spoke about how terrorists killed men in front of their wives and told them to go tell others about it.

The Congress leader detailed the attack and revealed how terrorists paid no heed to the women's pleas.

He said, "Some women cried out. They told the terrorists - killed me too, and they said, 'No, go back, tell everyone what happened to you'. We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the sindoor, the vermilion colour on the forehead of our women, will also match the colour of the blood of the killers, the perpetrators, the attackers..."

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Further, he reiterated the PM's message and said, "Our Prime Minister has made it very clear, Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the Sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women by depriving them of their husbands and fathers, their married lives."

Questions Pakistan

He also questioned Pakistan's continuous foul play in cases regarding terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, where none of them were even prosecuted or convicted in Pakistan.

"Not only India, but Western intelligence agencies had recordings of the chilling voice of the Pakistani cold-blooded handler giving daily minute-by-minute instructions to the killers in Mumbai. While the killings were going on, all the evidence was collected, and dossiers were established. What happened? Has a single person behind this outrage been prosecuted, let alone convicted? The answer is no. Sadly, Pakistan has chosen a policy of enabling terror," he said.

Comments 'seemingly' praising BJP

In remarks seen as a praise for the Modi government, Tharoor said, "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."

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"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 said.

'Super spokesperson of BJP'

These are the remarks that have invited stern responses from the Congress leadership, with several distancing themselves from the four-time MP's statements.

This adds to the existing issue of Tharoor being selected by the government to lead the US delegation, even though the Congress leadership had not given Tharoor's name in its preliminary list.

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Congress leader Udit Raj spoke against Tharoor's comments on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP, and what the BJP leaders are not saying, speaking in favour of PM Modi and the government, Shashi Tharoor is doing...Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the earlier governments used to do?"

"How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi , India never crossed LOC and International border . 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?" he said.

Seven delegations to spread India's message

To expose Pakistan on the global stage, the Centre formed seven teams of leaders across parties to carry India's anti-terror message to different countries.

The all-party delegation led by Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor arrived in Panama City for a three-day official visit after concluding their visit to Guyana. They had visited Guyana on Sunday (May 25), where they met Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, to discuss several key issues, including India's zero-tolerance stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

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The delegation, led by Tharoor, comprises Members of Parliament Sarfaraz Ahmed, G M Harish Balayogi, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejasvi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Mallikarjun Devda, Milind Deora and former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Operation Sindoor

Under the codename Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes against nine terror camps related to outfits such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.

For four days, the two countries engaged and a war-like situation as Pakistan chose to escalate.

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On May 10, the two countries reached a ceasefire understanding and the air attacks stopped, but rhetorical attacks continued. The Central government continued to expose Pakistan for its links to terror outfits and how it has provided a safe haven for terrorists.