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Shashi Tharoor praised for exposing Pakistan, Congress' Udit Raj dubs him ‘super spokesperson of BJP’
Shashi Tharoor, in Panama, highlighted how India breached the LoC and even the international border, something it never did before, to act against terrorism.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who led the all-party delegation for the Operation Sindoor global outreach programme, issued strong warnings to Pakistan and terrorist groups, but his remarks have sparked criticism from within his own party.
Congress leader Udit Raj took a swipe at Shashi Tharoor, calling him the “super spokesperson of the BJP”. He alleged that Tharoor’s comments in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government were even more vocal than those made by BJP leaders themselves.
"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?... They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces," news agency ANI quoted Raj as saying.
ALSO READ | In Panama, Shashi Tharoor's ‘no doubt’ warning to Pakistan, terrorists; clears India's stance
Shashi Tharoor is leading one of several all-party delegations that are travelling to India's international partner countries to brief them about the nation's stance on terrorism.
Tharoor's team includes Tejasvi Surya (BJP), Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Gants Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), and India's former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Sandhu.
Addressing the Indian embassy in Panama, Tharoor highlighted the actions taken against terrorists in recent years.
"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," the Congress MP said.
ALSO READ | ‘If they hit us again…’: Shashi Tharoor's warning to Pakistan
Tharoor noted how India breached the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time during a surgical strike it conducted on a terror base, referring to the Uri strike. "That was already something we had not done before," he stated, adding that the nation had not crossed the LoC even during the Kargil War.
In Uri, India did and then following the Pulwama terror attack in January 2019, the armed forces not only breached the LoC but also the international border, striking terrorist headquarters in Balakot, Tharoor said.
"This time (with Operation Sindoor), 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 Congress leader said in Panama.
Additionally, Tharoor had also explained the multi-party delegations and said that though all members come from "different political backgrounds and different parts of India, we are united in national purpose".
BJP slams 'double standards' of Congress
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla hit out at the grand old party for its "double standards" and questioned their tension over Shashi Tharoor exposing Pakistan on the global stage.
"When Pakistan is being exposed internationally by their own MP Shashi Tharoor, then Congress is getting upset, they have allowed their leader Udit Raj to insult him," Poonawalla told news agency PTI.
He further stated that while one hand Congress expresses support to the country and its army, it goes on to insult that very army on the other hand and calls Operation Sindoor as 'Operation Bluestar'.
"Then they spoke for Pakistan, gave clean chit to Pahalgam, tried to take credit for all party delegations, then called it tourism, 'baraat', why the Congress is adopting double standards?" Poonawalla asked.
