Shashi Tharoor Praises PM Modi's Terror Response, Gets Congress "CC" Strike

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks in Panama praising the Narendra Modi government's response to terror since it took over are set to hike the unease between the four-time MP and the Grand Old Party. Shortly after Mr Tharoor mentioned India's retaliatory strikes since 2016, his party colleague Pawan Khera tagged him in a video in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says that many surgical strikes were conducted during the UPA era. While Mr Khera just added a "CC", the message was clear: the Congress is not happy.

Former PM Manmohan Singh : Many Surgical Strikes Conducted Under UPA….
CC @ShashiTharoor https://t.co/dH6FRYS8Ky

— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 28, 2025

Addressing a gathering in Panama City as the head of one of the seven Indian delegations that have travelled abroad to expose Pakistan's link to terror, Mr Tharoor said terrorists targeting India have realised in recent years that they will have to pay.

"We have suffered attack after attack for almost four decades. It is just not acceptable for us to continue to bear the pain, the grief, the wounds, the losses and then merely go and tell the international community, look what is happening to us. Please help us. Please put pressure on the perpetrators to actually identify and prosecute the criminals," he said.

#WATCH | Panama City | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "...Some women cried out The terrorists killed me too, and they said, 'No, go back, tell what happened to you. We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion colour on the... pic.twitter.com/VOcr3hq3RO

- ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

Referring to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, "We had all the evidence. We even captured one of the terrorists alive. A very brave policeman gave his life to capture Ajmal Kasab alive. He was identified, his home, his address, his village in Pakistan were identified.

"Not only India, but Western intelligence agencies had recordings of the chilling voice of the Pakistani cold-blooded handler giving daily minute-by-minute instructions to the killers in Mumbai. While the killings were going on, all the evidence was collected, and dossiers were established. What happened? Has a single person behind this outrage been prosecuted, let alone convicted? The answer is no. Sadly, Pakistan has chosen a policy of enabling terror," he said.

In remarks that are likely to be seen by detractors as praise for the Narendra Modi government, Mr Tharoor 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 launchpad - 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, terror headquarters in nine places," he said.

India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir on May 7 to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 innocents dead.

"Our Prime Minister has made it very clear. Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women, depriving them of their husbands. In fact, some women cried out to the terrorists, 'kill me too'. And they said, 'No, go back, tell what happened to you. We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion colour on the forehead of our women, will also match the colour of the blood of the killers, the perpetrators, the attackers," he said.

Mr Tharoor has been making headlines for his articulation of India's position in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. But his remarks have not impressed the party leadership, which has distanced itself from Mr Tharoor, to the extent that Congress's communications head Jairam Ramesh has said, "When Tharoor saab speaks, it is not the party's opinion."

The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre in its action against those behind the Pahalgam terror attack, has now changed tack and asked the government to come clean on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the US played in it. Mr Tharoor, on the other hand, has praised the government's handling of the situation.

While Mr Tharoor's remarks may have endeared him to his critics and to some people in the government, his party colleagues think otherwise. According to a PTI report two weeks ago, a section of Congress leaders feel the senior leader has crossed "Lakshman Rekha". Lakshman Rekha, a metaphor originating in Ramayana, loosely means "boundary".

"We are a democratic party and people keep expressing their opinion, but this time, Tharoor has crossed the Lakshman Rekha," a party source said. The sources said the leadership has sent a "clear message" at a meeting earlier this month that leaders must focus on amplifying the party's stand instead of expressing individual opinions.

The former diplomat's selection to lead one of the Indian delegations only added to this unease. The Congress leadership said he was not among the four MPs it had suggested to the government. Mr Tharoor then said the party leadership is entitled to its opinion of his abilities.

#WATCH | Delhi | Congress leader Udit Raj says, "Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP, and what the BJP leaders are not saying, speaking in favour of PM Modi and the government, Shashi Tharoor is doing...Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the... https://t.co/zLGqq4p7RB pic.twitter.com/SPeGpc4b3T

- ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

The Congress leader's latest remarks drew a sharp response from another party colleague, Udit Raj.

"Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP. He doing Modi ji's chamchagiri (flattery) more than BJP leaders. Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the earlier governments used to do? ... They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the publicity stunts of the BJP," Mr Raj told ANI. A former MP, Udit Raj was earlier with the BJP.