Shashi Tharoor Defends Cross-Border Strike Remark, Says “Distorters Have Too Much Free Time”

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has strongly pushed back against criticism from within his own party over his recent comments supporting India’s cross-border counter-terror operations under the Narendra Modi-led government. Accusing detractors of deliberate misrepresentation, Tharoor said he had “better things to do” than argue with “critics and trolls.”

Tharoor is currently leading a multi-party delegation abroad as part of the Centre’s global outreach campaign against terrorism. His remarks made during a public address abroad — referencing India’s 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes — sparked sharp backlash from some in the Congress camp who accused him of undermining the party’s legacy and aligning too closely with the BJP’s narrative.

Speaking earlier this week, Tharoor had said: “For the first time, India breached the Line of Control to strike a terror base. Later, we went beyond even the international border, hitting terror headquarters deep inside Pakistan. This was unprecedented.”

In addition, Tharoor highlighted the recent Operation Sindoor, carried out by Indian forces on May 7, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 civilians. “These terrorists wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women… Our Prime Minister made it clear that the vermilion colour would match the blood of the killers,” Tharoor said, emphasizing the human cost of terrorism and the need for firm retaliation.

Responding to his party’s internal criticism, Tharoor wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Critics are welcome to distort my words, but I genuinely have better things to do. I was clearly and explicitly referring to retaliatory strikes post-terror attacks, not previous wars.”

Tharoor’s clarification follows a series of comments from party leaders questioning his choice of words. Some Congress members argued that his statement downplayed earlier military operations conducted under Congress-led governments.

However, Tharoor stood firm, stating that his comments were taken out of context and were specifically about modern retaliatory operations following non-state terror attacks, not traditional wars like those in 1965 or 1971. He also took a veiled swipe at internal detractors, saying: “Those fulminating about supposed ignorance of history should try reading the whole speech — or better yet, contribute more to real policy and less to party drama.”