“Have Better Things To Do”: Shashi Tharoor’s Sharp Retort Amid Congress Digs

Mr Tharoor is leading an Indian delegation in the Centre’s international outreach following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The delegation arrived in Bogota after events in the US and Panama.

“After a long and productive day in Panama, I need to wrap up at midnight with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don’t actually have time for this – but anyway: For those fanatics ranting about my alleged lack of knowledge of Indian bravery across the LoC:

“I was specifically and plainly talking only of reprisals for terrorist attacks and not of past wars; and my comments were prefaced by a mention of the numerous attacks that have occurred in recent years alone, during which past Indian reactions were both held back and checked by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB,” he wrote in a post on X.

“But as per usual, trolls and critics feel free to twist my words and my opinions as they please. I really have better things to do. Goodnight.”

Mr Tharoor’s comments following the Pahalgam attack and the India-Pakistan conflict have won him over to the critics and part of the government, but the Congress is not happy. Older leaders have previously stated the four-time MP’s comments do not represent Congress’s position and there have been grumblings about Mr Tharoor “crossing the line”.

Yesterday, speaking at a meeting in Panama City, Mr Tharoor stated that India‘s terrorists have come to realize in the past few years that they will have to pay. “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realized they will have to pay a price. On that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India crossed the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to launch a surgical strike on a terror base, a launchpad – the Uri strike in September 2015. That was something we had not done before.”

“Even during the Kargil War, we hadn’t crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then there was the January 2019 attack in Pulwama. This time, we crossed not just the Line of Control but even the international border, and we hit the headquarters of terrorism in Balakot. This time, we‘ve crossed both of those. We have not just crossed the Line of Control and the international border. We have hit in the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by striking terror camps, training facilities, terror HQs in nine locations,” he said.

The comments invited a jibe from Congress leader Udit Raj. “Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is BJP’s super spokesperson. He doing Modi ji’s chamchagiri (flattery) more than BJP leaders. Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the previous governments used to do?. They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the BJP’s publicity stunts,” Mr Raj said.

Soon, senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera also waded into the attack on Mr Tharoor, leaving no doubt that the Congress high command has also noticed. Mr Khera had simply added a “CC” while tagging Mr Tharoor in a video in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claims many surgical strikes were made during the UPA period. Mr Khera supplemented another news story, attributing External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar‘s words to say that “professionally conducted, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations” have previously been conducted on the other side of the LoC as well but this is the first time that the government has publicly acknowledged it.

Mr Ramesh, who had already stated Mr Tharoor’s comment is not the party position, appended a poem to deride. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive., he quoted.

Shashi Tharoor has had a checkered past in the Congress, and has had quite a few brushes with leadership.“. A former Union minister, he was stripped of the party spokesperson role in 2014 after he eulogized Prime Minister Modi in an article. In 2022, he was among a rebellion of 23 senior party leaders which demanded major organisational reforms. Several of those leaders have since quit Congress. In the year itself, Mr Tharoor challenged Mallikarjun Kharge for the post of party president. Although Mr Kharge, with the implied endorsement of the Gandhi family, triumphed with ease, Mr Tharoor received more than 1,000 votes, no mean achievement for a candidate challenging a “Gandhi-sanctioned” opponent.

After the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, he addressed many national and international forums. Although his statements were making headlines and even critics hailing him for his enunciation of the Indian standpoint, the Congress leadership is dissatisfied.

The Congress, which had pledged to stand solidly behind the Centre in its move against the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack, has now switched sides and demanded that the government speak out on what prompted the ceasefire and raised a question on the role of the US.

Previously, the top leadership issued a message to Mr Tharoor in a meeting of senior leaders. “We are a democratic party and people constantly give their views, but this time, Tharoor has gone beyond the limits,” a party insider said. The insiders said the leadership issued a “clear message” that leaders should concentrate on propagating the party’s position rather than sharing personal views.

Mr Tharoor has said he has made the remarks in a personal capacity and that he is not a party spokesperson.

Against this background, the government chose Mr Tharoor to head one of the seven Indian delegations going overseas as part of the outreach. The Congress claimed it had not proposed Mr Tharoor’s name. The ex-diplomat stated the party has the right to express an opinion of his capabilities and that he will perform the duty entrusted to him.