Panama City, 29 May

Amid Congress leaders' swipes at him over his ‘surgical strike’ remarks, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that 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 said his 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 India's responsible respect for the LoC and the IB.

The Congress leader, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, while speaking here, 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.

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 Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam 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.

"Former PM Manmohan Singh: Many Surgical Strikes Conducted Under UPA. CC @ShashiTharoor," Khera said in his post which was reposted by Ramesh.

Following the Pahalgam attack, Tharoor has been making comments on the India-Pakistan conflict that are at variance with the party's stand, which has been questioning the government over US President Donald Trump's claims of mediating a ceasefire between the two countries.