Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has heaped big praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling his energy and dynamism an asset for India. His remarks came days after the Operation Sindoor delegations, one of which Tharoor led, came back after representing India overseas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as he meets members of the seven multi-party delegations at his residence in Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)(HT_PRINT)

In a news article with an English daily, Tharoor wrote at length about his takeaways from leading such a delegation, representing India’s stance against terrorism. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remains a prime asset for India on the global stage, but deserves greater backing,” he wrote in The Hindu article.

Tharoor, who led the Indian delegation to the United States, Panama, Guyana, Colombia, and Brazil, termed Operation Sindoor “a moment of national resolve”. He also emphasised the value of unity as a nation and of public diplomacy.

He particularly highlighted his engagement in Washington DC and said that US officials recognised India’s concerns, even in the presence of Pakistani representatives. “Even as a Pakistani delegation was simultaneously present, we found US representatives, including those who met the Pakistani officials, echoing our concerns and urging decisive action against terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed,” Tharoor wrote.

As part of the Operation Sindoor outreach, members cutting across party lines travelled to 32 countries to put forth India’s resolve to tackle terrorism amid tensions with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Shashi Tharoor had drawn criticism from Congress after being chosen to lead the Operation Sindoor delegation, as he was not among the names formally recommended by the party to be included in the delegations.

‘BJP’s super spokesperson’

After Tharoor praised the 2015 Uri strike during his Panama leg and said that India never crossed the Line of Control before that, Congress leader Udit Raj termed him “BJP’s super spokesperson”, further escalating Congress’s internal rift.

“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.” This post by Udit Raj was also reshared by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on X.

Reacting to the controversy, Shashi Tharoor had said he cannot dwell on the criticism. ““Undoubtedly, in a thriving democracy, there are bound to be comments, criticisms. But I think at this point, we can’t afford to dwell on it, when we get back to India, no doubt we have a chance to speak to our colleagues, critics, and media there,” Tharoor had said.