NEW DELHI: Has Shashi Tharoor set a “new normal” for the Congress post India’s “Operation Sindoor“? Well, it seems so. The Thiruvananthapuram MP has been unequivocal and unwavering in his praise of the steps taken by the Narendra Modi government against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. So much so, the BJP leaders have cited Tharoor’s strong defence of the government to school and shame the opposition, including the Congress. While the Congress has heaped praise on the armed forces over the success of “Operation Sindoor”, it has questioned the Modi government’s decision to announce sudden ceasefire, which, ironically, was first announced by US President Donald Trump. While making the ceasefire announcement, Trump also claimed that India and Pakistan had agreed to talks at a neutral venue. Later, Trump went on to claim, not once but twice, that he used trade deal as a leverage to force India and Pakistan to agree to the ceasefire. While India did not react to Trump’s claim publically, the external affairs ministry made it clear that trade was never a part of any discussions with the US. India also categorically declared that it was Islamabad that had approached us for ceasefire after the May 10 strike by our armed forces which destroyed many air bases in Pakistan.The Congress raised tough questions for Prime Minister Modi in the light of these US claims. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: “The Prime Minister did not speak one word on the claims made by President Trump minutes before his address to the nation. Has India accepted America’s mediation? Has India agreed to hold talks with Pakistan at a neutral venue? Will India now accept US demand for opening of markets in automobile, agriculture and other sectors?” Other opposition leaders also targeted the government over US claims of playing the mediator.
Poll
Do you believe that India’s approach to conflict with Pakistan has changed under Modi’s government?
However, Shashi Tharoor strongly defended the Modi government and called the US President “a politician wanting to take credit for something.” Tharoor also justified India’s decision to agree to a ceasefire.“Peace is essential. I am very glad, India never wanted a long-term war. India wanted to teach terrorists a lesson, I believe that lesson has been taught. The other details are awaited,” Tharoor said in his first recation on ceasefire.For US President Trump’s claims, Tharoor had a sharp retort.“I see it as a particular politician wanting to take credit for something and I can see that the government of India probably said ‘let them take the credit if they want to’, but from our point of view we have made it clear that the peace followed a request from the DGMO of Pakistan who called his Indian counterpart at 3:35 pm (Saturday) and we did not take very long to say yes because we had never wanted a long war,” Tharoor said.Clarifying that he was speaking as an individual MP, Tharoor said he did not like Trump’s social media posts on the issue.“You are making equivalent the victim and the perpetrator, which is really shocking. It is completely wrong to imply that as a result of this India is going to give some sort of negotiation to Pakistan. We will never negotiate to the point of a gun, we are never going to give the satisfaction to Pakistan of feeling that by unleashing a terrorist attack in Pahalgam they have somehow earned the right to negotiate with India,” he said.“I don’t think that Mr Trump should have in any way, shape or form implied that the Kashmiri dispute has been internationalised by the American involvement. We don’t even accept that there is a dispute of that nature, Kashmir is an integral part of India … we are not interested at all in internationalising the dispute,” he added.Earlier also Tharoor was effusive in his praise for “Operation Sindoor” and had said: “The operation was well-calibrated, well-calculated, and effectively executed. I am very impressed, from the naming of the operation to how it was presented to the world. We had to respond. We could not allow Pakistani terrorists to believe that they can walk into our country, kill civilians, and get away with it. They had to be punished. At the same time, an indiscriminate action on our part could have needlessly provoked an escalation and cost us the sympathy of the world.”The Congress MP also praised the government’s messaging on the issue: “We are doing all the right things so far. The nature of Operation Sindoor was right. The messaging of the press conference in which the foreign secretary, a Kashmiri Pandit, was flanked on both sides by women officers, one of whom was a Muslim, demonstrates a narrative against the one of Hindu-Muslim hostility being spread by the Pakistanis like silly general Munir. It sends a very good message.” And when some Congress leaders spoke of 1971 war and the role of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Tharoor had this message for his party leaders.“Today’s Pakistan is a different situation. Their military equipment and the damage they can do are different. Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause to actually bring people to freedom and liberation. That was a completely different story. This is a different story. We would have ended up with much longer, protracted conflicts with a lot of loss of lives on both sides. Is this the biggest priority for India today? No, it is not.” While Tharoor heaped praised on Modi government’s actions against Pakistan, he did not hesitate to slam the BJP when the safrron party put out a social media post criticising the previous UPA government and said the “petty attempt to divide us politically is deplorable”.Tagging the BJP’s post on X, Tharoor said, “At a time when the nation stands united as Indians, this petty attempt to divide us politically is deplorable. Our government has learned the futility of past approaches the hard way — after inviting Pakistan to participate in the investigation of the Pathankot blasts in 2016. It is only then that it took to the path of military action, carefully calibrated and maturely conducted. This advertisement is neither appropriate nor mature. Delete it, please, @BJP4India. Jai Hind.” Tharoor, a leading opposition leader, gave the BJP enough ammunition to target the critics of the government and accuse the Congress of playing politics.“I am really surprised that Congress is not listening to what Shashi Tharoor is saying. He is a senior Congress leader and is very clear that let anybody take the credit, but India decided to have this understanding with Pakistan. We didn’t want a war. It was an understanding based on our terms and conditions. But you (Congress) want to politicise everything,” Tamil Nadu BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said slamming the grand-old-party.Tharoor has been at loggerheads with the Congress over his repeated praise for PM Modi and his policies.When Tharoor had first praised Prime Minister Modi for his US visit and then lauded India’s role under the PM in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Congress had reacted very sharply to his remarks. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had then laid stress on discipline and had given a stern warning to the state leaders that strong action will be taken against those making comments that go against the party’s interests.The Congress has officially not reacted to Tharoor’s statements but Jairam Ramesh has made it clear that “When Mr. Tharoor speaks, it does not reflect the views of the party.” Party sources say that Tharoor has crossed the ‘lakshman rekha’ with his repeated comments on the India-Pakistan conflict.(With inputs from agencies)
