Tharoor slams Congress amid ‘surgical strikes' remark row
Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor on Thursday, hit back at his critics, calling them 'zealots' and 'trolls' and clarified that his remark—'for the first time, India breached the Line of Control to conduct a surgical strike'—was said in the context of terror attacks and not about previous wars.
He was responding on X to criticism of his comment from Congress leaders about his comments that India conducted its first surgical strike in response to a terror attack in 2016.
But while a senior Congress leader sought to play down the entire episode, others doubled down on their criticism of Tharoor, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party backed the comments.
If India's multi-party outreach to the world to reiterate the message of Operation Sindoor and highlight Pakistan's continued support of terror is the main feature, the Congress' obvious, and sometimes articulated, discomfort about Tharoor's presence on and active and enthusiastic participation in one outreach delegation, has played out like a diverting side show.
'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: 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; &
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.
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 said on X.
Tharoor's rebuttal came a day after party leader Udit Raj accused him of being 'dishonest' and for allegedly denigrating the 'golden history' of the party. Raj suggested that would recommend to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Tharoor be made a super-spokesperson of the BJP or as India's foreign minister.
The government, which nominated Tharoor as a leader of one of the delegations -- despite the Congress' desire to nominate others -- joined the debate. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju questioned the Congress' stance. 'What does the Congress party want & How much they really care for the country? Should Indian MPs go to foreign nation and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There's limit to political desperation! We Indians must speak in one voice in crucial time at least !!' Rijiju said on X.
Senior Congress leader and party general secretary Randeep Surjewala tried to play down the entire episode on Thursday. He announced 'Tharoor is a seasoned and experienced leader of the Congress and is very much part of the Congress family.
But he too insisted that Tharoor was wrong about the surgical strikes.
'Congress party only corrected (him) by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other dens of terrorists was a regular feature even during the UPA term -- to give a befitting reply to terrorists by our armed forces and the Congress governments. Those instances have been detailed in the past by the communications department (when Surjewala headed the department). Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh as himself spoken about them; Tharoor himself in his book spoken about them, and Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have only put the record straight. It is not a matter of acrimony and doubt,' Surjewala added.
On Thursday, Congress' Media department head Pawan Khera said on X that he agreed with Tharoor's comments in the book The Paradoxical Prime Minister. He posted an image of highlighted passages in the book that said: 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes'… 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 authorized several such strikes earlier....' .
Udit Raj too, hit out at Tharoor again. 'Let him praise, worship, or do whatever he wants, I have no concern with that. But if he acts against the interests of the Congress party and tries to erase its history, there will be consequences,' Raj, who is the national chairman of Unorganized Workers & Employees Congress, said on Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
28 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Neighbourhood policy at work: India to fly home Nepal, Sri Lanka citizens from Iran
In a major diplomatic outreach to its neighbours, India said Saturday it will evacuate nationals of Nepal and Sri Lanka who are stranded in Iran and want to leave the country. Officials in Delhi framed it as an example of India's 'neighbourhood first policy' — of helping its neighbours in times of crisis, be it conflict, natural calamity or pandemic. This announcement came on the day two more flights, operated by the Iranian Mahan Air, landed in Delhi. The Indian embassy in Tehran, in a post on X, said, 'On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka.' 'The citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka may urgently reach out to the Embassy, either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers: +989010144557;+989128109115; +989128109109,' it stated. Nepal's Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba expressed Kathmandu's gratitude. In a post on X, she thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar 'for India's swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran'. 'India's support in Nepal's evacuation efforts is a reflection of the strength of Nepal-India ties,' she said. Sources said about 16 Nepal nationals are in touch with the Nepalese embassy in Delhi. Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post, said, 'Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens. This act of solidarity exemplifies the strong and enduring partnership between Sri Lanka and India, and is deeply appreciated by the people of Sri Lanka.' So far, a total of 827 Indians have been evacuated from Iran. 'Another evacuation flight from Mashhad landed in New Delhi at 1630 hrs on 21 June with 310 Indian nationals from Iran. With this, a total of 827 Indians have been evacuated,' Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said. A group of about 290 Indian nationals, including students, reached Delhi late Friday night and early Saturday after being evacuated from Iran as its war with Israel intensified. On Wednesday, India announced the launch of Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals from Iran. 'Operation Sindhu flight brings citizens home. India evacuated 290 Indian nationals from Iran, including students and religious pilgrims by a charter flight. The flight arrived in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 20 June and was received by Secretary (CPV& OIA) Arun Chatterjee,' Jaiswal wrote on X. 'Government of India is grateful to the Government of Iran for the facilitation of the evacuation process,' he said. The first batch of 110 Indian nationals, evacuated under Operation Sindhu, arrived in India Thursday, with many evacuees sharing firsthand accounts of the frightening situation they witnessed before being moved to safer locations. This is not the first time that Delhi has stepped in to evacuate citizens of its neighbours. In the early days of the Ukraine war, India evacuated nationals of neighbouring countries along with its own. Delhi managed to persuade Tehran to open Iranian airspace for the evacuation of around 1,000 Indians via the north-eastern town of Mashhad. Sources said Delhi, after days of negotiations, moved its nationals to Mashhad and secured overflight permissions from Iran and Turkmenistan to fly Indians out of harm's way. Mashhad is close to Iran's border with Turkmenistan, and India found an air corridor for a safe flight out. Indians were moved from Tehran to Qom and then to Mashhad, with the help of the Indian embassy and Iranian authorities. India's ties with Iran and Israel puts it in a delicate spot, where it has to do some diplomatic balancing act. Delhi has strategic stakes with Iran – from Chabahar port to shared concerns on Pakistan and Afghanistan. So, it has been very careful in its statements. It has a very strategic security and defence partnership with Israel as well. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Another flight brings back 290 Indians from Iran under Op Sindhu, total evacuated reaches 1,117
New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): Another special flight carrying 290 Indians stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Saturday night, bringing the total number of people evacuated under Operation Sindhu to 1,117. This marks the fifth batch of Indians evacuated from Iran as part of the ongoing operation. In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, 'Operation Sindhu gains momentum. 290 Indian nationals have returned home safely from Iran on a special flight from Mashhad that landed in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 21 June 2025.' 'With this, 1,117 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Iran,' the MEA added. The evacuees, including students, shared their experiences of the tense situation in Iran and expressed deep gratitude to the Indian government and embassy officials. An Indian national from Bihar's Siwan, studying medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, said, 'I am from Siwan, Bihar. I have been in Iran for the last 2 years. I study medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The situation in Tehran is critical. Other places are normal. I am thankful to the government (for the evacuation).' Another evacuee, Naveed, a second-year MBBS student, added, 'I am from Kashmir. I am a 2nd-year MBBS student. I feel very good now. I am thankful to India. They evacuated us.' Describing the fear they faced, one evacuee said, 'I feel very good. There were missiles firing. We were feeling very afraid there. We were stuck there for 1 week.' Momin Ushtaq from Kashmir praised the government's efforts, saying, 'I am from Kashmir. The situation is not good there. We are very thankful to the government of India, Kashmir, and the Embassy. They deserve a special thanks, as they evacuated us and brought us back home.' Gratitude was also directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parveen, another evacuee, said, 'I am very happy. I am thankful to PM Modi from the bottom of my heart. Our government helped us to get back here.' Indira Kumari added, 'We have returned. I am thankful to the Indian government and the Prime Minister of India.' Earlier on Saturday, a special flight from Mashhad carrying 310 Indian nationals landed in New Delhi at 4:30 PM. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes targeted a significant nuclear facility in Iran's Isfahan province, as reported by Al Jazeera. As per Al Jazeera, citing an Israeli military spokesperson, the air force struck the main complex as well as buildings involved in centrifuge production. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop was hit but clarified that no nuclear material was present at the site, so there were no radiological impacts. (ANI)
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Pujara, Yuvraj celebrate International Yoga Day
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): Indian cricket icons Yuvraj Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara took to social media, celebrating and extending wishes of International Yoga Day. Pujara shared a picture on X, doing yoga in front of a beaming sun and captioned the post, 'Take a moment to honour the journey within! #internationalyogaday.' The World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj also posted an Instagram story of himself doing yoga, saying, 'Some days are meant to remind us to pause, to stretch beyond the routine and reconnect with breath, balance and stillness. Today is a great day to make this a practice.' Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took part in the 11th International Day of Yoga celebrations, where he hailed yoga as a gift 'beyond age' that transcends all boundaries and unites humanity in 'health and harmony.' The event took place against the scenic backdrop of the Visakhapatnam coastline, with Indian Navy ships stationed near the shore, adding to the grandeur of the celebrations. The Prime Minister praised the efforts of the Andhra Pradesh government and extended his appreciation to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan for hosting the event in Visakhapatnam. He lauded their leadership as 'inspiring' and described the state's initiative to promote yoga as 'commendable. 'Yoga is for everyone beyond boundaries, beyond backgrounds, beyond age or physical ability. It is a universal gift that unites humanity in health, harmony, and consciousness. Friends, I am truly delighted that we are gathered here in Visakhapatnam, a city that beautifully blends nature with progress. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Chandrababu Naidu Garu and Pawan Kalyan for hosting such a wonderful event under your inspiring leadership. It is commendable that the state of Andhra Pradesh has taken this meaningful initiative to promote yoga,' said PM Modi while addressing the gathering. Over three lakh individuals joined him for a mass yoga session in the coastal city, reinforcing this year's message that 'yoga belongs to everyone' and brings the world together. The Prime Minister recalled India's initiative at the United Nations in 2014 to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day, a move that received wide global support in record time. 'I remember when India proposed to the United Nations that June 21st be celebrated as International Yoga Day. Remarkably, in a very short span of time, 175 countries came forward to support this initiative. Such unity and overwhelming global support was truly extraordinary. This was not just about agreeing to a proposal, it was a collective step taken for the betterment of humanity. It reflected a shared vision for a healthier, more conscious world. Today, in 2025, we can proudly see that yoga has become an integral part of many people's lives across the globe,' the Prime Minister said. (ANI)
