The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday defended Shashi Tharoor against remarks made by fellow Congress party member Udit Raj, stating that he was being attacked by his own party for keeping national interest above the Gandhi family.
Congress party leader Udit Raj had taken to X to criticise Tharoor's claim that India had crossed the Line of Control between India and Pakistan for the first time in 2016. He had also called Tharoor a “BJP super spokesperson,” and stated that he had diminished the history of the Congress.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reacted sharply to Udit Raj's comments on Tharoor, claiming that the Congress was “launching missiles at its leader” at the behest of Rahul Gandhi.
He also alleged that the party seemed more eager to give a “clean chit” to Pakistan.
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“Shashi Tharoor is being attacked at the behest of Rahul Gandhi because Shashi Tharoor kept India first, not (Gandhi) family. He talked about national interest, not his party’s interest. He is being attacked because he kept national policy above the vote bank (politics)," Poonawalla told PTI.
{{/usCountry}}“Shashi Tharoor is being attacked at the behest of Rahul Gandhi because Shashi Tharoor kept India first, not (Gandhi) family. He talked about national interest, not his party’s interest. He is being attacked because he kept national policy above the vote bank (politics)," Poonawalla told PTI.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: 'India heard their cries': Shashi Tharoor shares details of Pahalgam attack in Panama
“Today, the Congress, while talking like Pakistan’s DG ISPR (Ahmed Sharif Choudhry), is launching missiles at its own leader (Shashi Tharoor). It won’t say a word against Pakistan. It will give clean chit to Pakistan,” Poonawalla added.
Udit Raj slams Tharoor for LoC comment
Congress leader and Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor, during an event in Panama, stated that India had breached the Line of Control for the first time during a 2016 surgical strike in Uri.
Tharoor was speaking as a representative of the Indian government, which had sent multi-party delegations to various countries to defend India's stance and warn countries of Pakistan's links to terrorism, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Raj, who took umbrage at Tharoor's remarks, took to X, saying, "My dear Shashi Tharoor, Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP , even declaring (you) 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."
"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 government several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash (it) politically," he said.