Rift within Congress? Udit Raj hits out at Shashi Tharoor, calls him 'super spokesperson of BJP'

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Udit Raj has strongly criticised party colleague and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor for his recent statements in Panama, accusing him of acting as a "spokesperson for the BJP's publicity stunts."

During his address as part of a multi-party delegation in Panama, Tharoor discussed India's evolving approach to counter-terrorism, specifically mentioning the 2016 Surgical Strike and 2019 Balakot airstrike. He emphasized how these operations demonstrated India's willingness to cross both the Line of Control and international borders to target terrorist facilities in Pakistan.


Referring to 2016's Surgical strike and 2019's Balakot airstrike in his address, the Congress MP said, "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. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launch pad - the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, 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, and terror headquarters in nine places," Tharoor said.



Udit Raj took strong exception to these remarks, particularly objecting to what he perceived as Tharoor diminishing Congress's historical achievements. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Raj stated, "How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed LOC and the international border?" He cited examples from 1965 and 1971 wars, as well as surgical strikes during the UPA government, to counter Tharoor's narrative.

"Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has become the super spokesperson of the BJP, speaking in favor of PM Modi and his government," Raj told ANI. He also accused the current Central government of inappropriately taking credit for the Armed Forces' actions.

Interestingly, Tharoor, who is currently leading an all-party delegation to various nations including the United States, Guyana, and Panama, was not among the Congress party's official recommendations for these outreach delegations.