Congress upset with Shashi Tharoor's 'cover fire' to BJP: Sources 

The Congress party is upset with senior leader Shashi Tharoor over remarks made during his visit to Panama, where he appeared to credit the Narendra Modi-led government for India's shift in counter-terrorism operations, including surgical strikes, sources told India Today. 

According to sources, the leadership is displeased with Tharoor's statement that appeared to support the BJP government's line on cross-border military actions, particularly in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

"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 launch pad — the Uri strike in September 2016," Tharoor had said during his address, adding that the 2019 Balakot strike went even further by crossing the International Border.

The party leadership believes Tharoor's comments are at odds with the Congress' long-standing position that six surgical strikes were carried out under the UPA government, though they were not publicised. There is also concern within the party that his remarks offer political cover to the Modi government at a time when the Congress wants to question the Centre's handling of the situation post-Operation Sindoor and the subsequent ceasefire.

Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, is currently leading a multi-party Indian parliamentary delegation to Panama after concluding a visit to the United States. Other members of the delegation include Sarfaraz Ahmed, G M Harish Balayogi, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejasvi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Mallikarjun Devda, Milind Deora, and former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Hailing India's actions in 2016 and 2019, 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 launch pad -- the Uri strike in September 2016."

Senior Congress leader Udit Raj openly criticised Tharoor over his remarks. Speaking to ANI, Raj said, “Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP, and what the BJP leaders are not saying when it came to speaking in favour of PM Modi and the government, he is doing.”

Raj further claimed that Tharoor’s statements help the Modi government take credit for military action. “Earlier governments were not like the current one. This government won't do anything, but they will still take credit for it,” he added.

The Congress views the government's handling of the ceasefire after Operation Sindoor as a sign of retreat and had intended to raise this issue politically.