'Has BJP appointed him as spokesperson?': Congress hits out at Shashi Tharoor's take on Pahalgam terror attack

Congress leader Udit Raj on Sunday attacked Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor over the latter's remarks on Pahalgam terror attack. Raj questioned Tharoor's political allegiance and asked whether he was aligned with the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

On April 22, 26 people including a local ponywallah were killed in the terror attack at the Baisaran meadow in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. 

"I want to ask Shashi Tharoor, is he in the Congress party or the BJP? Is he trying to become a super-BJP man? Shashi Tharoor should ask the BJP when the government is taking the PoK? Has Shashi Tharoor become an advocate for the BJP?...Has the BJP appointed him as its spokesperson?" Udit Raj was quoted as saying by newswire ANI.

In his remarks, Tharoor had said that while the agencies' success in thwarting terror attacks goes unnoticed, failures are highlighted. To substantiate his point, he cited the dastardly October 7 attacks on Israel. 

"Obviously, there was no full proof intelligence. There was some failure... But we have got the example of Israel, the world's best intelligence services according to everybody, which were taken by surprise on October 7, just two years ago," he said. 

He also said that no country can ever have a 100 per cent foolproof intelligence. 

"We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted. We only get to know about the ones that we failed to thwart. This is normal in any nation. There were failures, I agree, but that should not be our main focus right now." 

He even said that the Pahalgam attack is a part of pattern that the world has seen for almost 25 years in which people are encouraged, trained, armed and often guided across the border. 

"Then Pakistan denies any responsibility. Eventually, responsibility is established and proven. It is clear that while we have a range of options, some visible military response is unavoidable. The nation is demanding it and expecting it. I am convinced there will be some response."

Amping up his criticism against Tharoor, Udit Raj said: "I want to ask him which terrorist attack occurred in America after 9/11? Has the BJP made him its spokesperson?"