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Randeep Singh Surjewala counters Shashi Tharoor’s claims, defending Congress’s stance and record on surgical strikes amid rising political tensions.
As tensions between Congress and its leader Shashi Tharoor intensified on Thursday, the party’s general secretary, Randeep Singh Surjewala, attempted to calm the situation by asserting that there was no discord among the party leaders. However, Surjewala mistakenly stated that surgical strikes against Pakistan were conducted for the first time in 2016.
Addressing the media, Surjewala stated that Shashi Tharoor’s recent comments on surgical strikes, made while leading an all-party delegation to highlight Pakistan’s activities, were factually inaccurate. He emphasized that the Congress party was simply setting the record straight by pointing out that surgical strikes, as well as operations against other terrorist hideouts, were regularly carried out during the Congress-led UPA government as a strong response to terrorism.
Surjewala told reporters that Shashi Tharoor, a senior Congress leader and an integral member of the Congress family, made factually incorrect statements about the surgical strike.
He clarified that the armed forces had indeed conducted surgical strikes during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
“The Congress party merely clarified the facts by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other terrorist hideouts were also carried out regularly during the UPA government’s tenure. These operations were part of the armed forces’ firm response to terrorism under Congress-led administrations. The party’s communications department, when headed by Randeep Surjewala, had already documented these instances in the past. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has spoken about them, and Shashi Tharoor has referenced them in his book. Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have simply reiterated the truth. This is not a matter of controversy or dispute,” Surjewala said.
Leading an all-party delegation to partner countries to underscore India’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and highlight Operation Sindoor, Shashi Tharoor stated in Panama that India’s approach has significantly evolved in recent years — sending a clear message to terrorists that they will now face consequences for their actions.
Referring to the 2016 surgical strike and the 2019 Balakot airstrike, the Congress MP from Kerala said:
“What has changed in recent years is that terrorists now know there will be consequences — that much is certain. For the first time, India crossed the Line of Control to carry out a surgical strike on a terror launch pad in response to the Uri attack. This marked a significant shift; even during the Kargil War, we did not cross the LoC. Later, in January 2019, came the Pulwama attack, followed by another strong response.
This time, our actions have gone beyond the Line of Control and even the international border—we have targeted the very heart of Punjab in Pakistan, striking at terror bases, training camps, and headquarters across nine locations,” Tharoor stated.
Congress Leaders Criticize Shashi Tharoor Over Remarks on Surgical Strikes
A statement by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has sparked dissent within the party, with several leaders publicly expressing their disagreement.
Party figures, including the head of the media and publicity department, Pawan Khera, and leader Udit Raj, criticized Tharoor for omitting references to the surgical strikes carried out against Pakistan during the UPA government’s tenure in his presentations abroad.
Udit Raj once remarked that he should be appointed as a “super spokesperson of the BJP.”
On Thursday, he continued his criticism, claiming that the statement made by the Kerala MP was a “lie and part of a conspiracy to damage the Congress.”
The delegations that have been sent are attempting to tarnish the reputation of the Congress party. Shashi Tharoor has stated that before Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, India never crossed the Line of Control or any international border with Pakistan. This is a blatant falsehood and a deliberate attempt to distort the Congress party’s historical legacy. Such misinformation must be strongly countered,” Raj told PTI.
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Instead of criticising the Congress party, he should concentrate on fulfilling his responsibilities. The Congress has taken necessary steps in the past, but unlike others, it never turned those actions into a publicity campaign or a means to gain votes,” he said.
In his book, Tharoor criticizes the blatant politicization of the 2016 surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan and the cross-border raid into Myanmar, arguing that using such military operations as tools for election campaigning represented a troubling departure from the long-standing principle that matters of national security should be handled with discretion and remain above partisan politics—a standard, he notes, that the Congress party had respected despite having authorized similar strikes in the past.
After a long and productive day in Panama, I’m wrapping up at midnight with a flight to Bogotá in six hours—so time is tight. Still, a quick note for those zealots attacking me over my alleged ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC:
Tharoor responded to the criticism by highlighting that his remarks were made in the context of numerous attacks in recent years, during which India’s responses remained measured and limited out of a responsible respect for the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).
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