The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday came out in support of senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has come under fire from his own party colleague Udit Raj over a controversial statement regarding India’s military operations across the Line of Control (LoC).
Tharoor, speaking recently in Panama as part of an official multi-party delegation, stated that India crossed the LoC for the first time in 2016, referencing the surgical strikes that followed the Uri terror attack. His remarks triggered backlash from Congress MP Udit Raj, who accused Tharoor of ignoring India’s past military achievements and acting like a BJP spokesperson.
Reacting to the intra-party criticism, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla defended Tharoor, stating:
“He is being attacked because he put India first, not the Gandhi family. He stood for national interest, not party politics.”
Poonawalla further alleged that the Congress is more eager to defend Pakistan than support its own leaders.
“Congress, speaking like Pakistan’s DG ISPR, is launching missiles at its own leader for speaking the truth,” he told PTI.
In a strongly worded post on X, Udit Raj rebuked Tharoor, writing:
“My dear Shashi Tharoor, how could you denigrate the golden history of the Congress? India entered Pakistan in 1965, split it in 1971, and conducted surgical strikes during UPA too.”
Raj accused Tharoor of diminishing past achievements in favor of crediting the Modi-led BJP government.
“Before Modi, India crossed both the LoC and the international border multiple times. The difference is — we didn’t use it for political drum-beating.”
Tharoor made the contentious remark during a diplomatic mission to Panama in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, where he warned the global community about Pakistan’s ties to terrorism.
His statement — meant to showcase India’s evolving counter-terror policy — became a political lightning rod back home, fueling infighting in the Congress and offering the BJP ammunition to target the opposition.
