Shashi Tharoor, who has courted controversy over his remarks in Panama, has issued a clarification saying that he “clearly and explicitly” spoke about “reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars”. He added that “critics and trolls” may “distort his speech as they see fit”. His statement comes after the Congress criticised him, calling his comments “dishonest” and referring to him as the “super spokesperson of the BJP”. Following this, Congress said that the “matter ends there”.

“I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don’t really have time for this – but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC in the past,” Tharoor wrote on X after a “long and successful” day in Panama. 

He shared a two-point clarification. First, he said, “I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars.”

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“My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB,” the second point read. 

The 69-year-old said that he has “better things to do” and ended the post with a “Good night”. 

“But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight,” he concluded his social media post. 

‘Matter ends today’: Pawan Khera

“Today he tweeted saying that he did not say such a thing, so the matter ends there,” Pawan Khera told news agency IANS. 

He also quoted an excerpt from Tharoor’s book and said that he agrees with him. “I agree with Dr Shashi Tharoor, who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 – ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’,” he said.

What has Tharoor said in Panama?

Tharoor said that India crossed the LoC and IB for the first time during the 2015 surgical strike in Uri, and that even during the Kargil War, it did not cross the LoC.

“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 2015. That was already something we had not done before,” Shashi Tharoor said. 

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He added, “Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the International Border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places.”

BJP’s super spokesperson snub

Udit Raj reacted to Tharoor’s comments made in Panama as part of India’s diplomatic outreach Programme to expose Pakistan-sponsored terrorism following Operation Sindoor. He said that PM Modi could make him “super spokesperson of the BJP” and the “foreign minister” before his return to India. 

He went on to ask, “How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed the LOC and the International border. In 1965 Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points, which completely surprised the Pakistanis in the Lahore sector.”

“In 1971, India tore Pakistan in two pieces and during the UPA Govt several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash politically,” he continued as he tagged him “dishonest”. 

Pawan Khera seems to be aligning with his views, as he reposted Udit Raj’s post.