Tharoor slams 'zealots'; says was clearly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks
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Panama City/New Delhi (PTI): Amid Congress' swipes at him over his 'surgical strike' remarks, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said for those "zealots" fulminating about his supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC, he was "clearly and explicitly" speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars.
Tharoor also said critics and trolls are welcome to "distort" his views and words as they see fit and he "genuinely" has "better things to do".
The Congress leader, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, while speaking in Panama, reportedly said that when "for the first time" India breached the LoC between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base that was something we had not done before.
The Congress had taken swipes at him over the remarks, with party colleague Udit Raj saying he should be made a "super spokesperson of the BJP".
Responding to the criticism, Tharoor said, "After a long and successful day in Panama, 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 - 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars."
"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," Tharoor said.
"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 added.
The Congress' digs at Tharoor continued on Thursday, with Raj saying what the MP had said was a "lie and a conspiracy to destroy the Congress".
"The delegations which have been sent are trying to destroy the name of the Congress...Shashi Tharoor says that before PM Modi's leadership, we never crossed LoC or any international border with Pakistan. It is a big lie and a big conspiracy to destroy the history of the Congress which needs to be replied to," Raj told PTI Videos.
"He should focus on his duty rather than criticising the Congress party… Congress took required measures in the past but never publicised it or used it as a medium of collecting votes in their favour," he said.
The post carrying Raj's remarks was reposted by Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh on X.
In an apparent swipe at Tharoor, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared a screenshot from Tharoor's book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' in which he had criticised the Modi government for allegedly exploiting the 2016 surgical strikes politically.
"I agree with that Dr Shashi Tharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 - ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’," Khera said.
"The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool-something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier--marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship," Tharoor had written in his book.
Tagging Tharoor's remarks on surgical strikes, Raj had said on Wednesday, "My dear Shashi Tharoor, Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP, even declaring (you) as foreign minister before landing in India. How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed LoC and 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 UPA government several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash (it) politically," he said.
"How could you be so dishonest to the party which gave you so much," asked Raj, who is the chairman of the Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress Other Than Professionals.
Raj's post on X was also reposted by Ramesh and the party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera.
Taking a swipe at Tharoor, Khera had posted a picture which shows officers of the 4 Sikh Regiment posing outside a captured Pakistani police station in Burki, Lahore district.
"This image is from the Battle of Burki (also known as the Battle of Lahore, 1965), a significant engagement during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, fought between Indian infantry units and Pakistani armoured forces," Khera had said.
"Burki is a village located southeast of Lahore, near the India-Pakistan border, approximately 11 km from Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, connected to the city by a bridge over the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Canal. CC @ShashiTharoor," Khera posted.
In another post, Khera had put out a media report which quoted former prime minister Manmohan Singh as saying that India carried out multiple surgical strikes under the UPA rule.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
