Shashi Tharoor clarifies his stance, saying he referred to only retaliatory strikes

After getting criticism from within his party, Tharoor clarified he wasn’t referring to previous wars but only to retaliatory strikes after recent terror attacks.

On Thursday, Shashi Tharoor hit back at criticism from within his party, notably from Udit Raj, over his reported statement in Panama that India breached the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time during the 2016 surgical strike on a terror base.

Shashi Tharoor hits back at criticism.

Taking to X, Shashi Tharoor clarified he was referring only to retaliatory strikes after recent terror attacks, not previous wars. He wrote, citing his tight schedule, “Critics are welcome to distort my words, but I genuinely have better things to do.” Taking a swipe at Congress, Tharoor said, “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.”

Udit Raj has been slamming Shashi Tharoor for allegedly undermining Congress’ legacy and even suggested he be made the “super spokesperson of the BJP.” Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, while speaking in Panama, reportedly said that when “for the first time”, India breached the LoC between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, something we had not done before.