New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor — who has drawn flak from his party colleague Udit Raj for his recent comments on Operation Sindoor — has found backing from an unexpected quarter: Union minister Kiren Rijiju. Tharoor is currently leading a multi-party delegation which is visiting different countries to explain India’s military operations to dismantle terror infrastructure and expose Pakistan’s links with terrorists.
Rijiju has questioned the Congress party’s stance and asked what does it expect of the all-party teams the Centre has sent to key nations to explain Operation Sindoor. Taking to X, the minister said: “What does the Congress party want & how much they really care for the country? Should the Indian MPs go to foreign nation and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There’s limit to political desperation!”
What does the Congress party want & How much they really care for the country? Should the Indian MPs go to foreign nation and speak against India and its Prime Minister?
There’s limit to political desperation! https://t.co/JiuYqpW2tN— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 28, 2025
‘Targeting Tharoor at Rahul Gandhi’s behest’
Earlier, Udit Raj criticised Tharoor for his reported remarks at an event in Panama, where the MP stated that India crossed the Line of Control for the first time during the 2016 surgical strikes on a terrorist base. Raj sarcastically pointed out that Tharoor should be immediately appointed the “super spokesperson of the BJP”, while he alleged that the MP was undermining the legacy of the Congress party. He also said: “…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 earlier governments used to do?… They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces.”
In response, on Wednesday, the BJP had claimed that Udit Raj was targeting Tharoor at Rahul Gandhi’s behest, underlining that the MP put national interest above his party while ripping apart Pakistan on the international stage. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reportedly said that Congress had claimed support for the country and armed forces in the all-party meeting, although its actions reek of double standards. “Today, the Congress, while talking like Pakistan’s DG ISPR (Ahmed Sharif Choudhry), is launching missiles at its own leader (Shashi Tharoor). It won’t say a word against Pakistan. It will give clean chit to Pakistan,” Poonwalla fumed.
