After Row Over PM Remark, Shashi Tharoor's J&K Comment Upsets Colleague

Congress leader Udit Raj on Monday slammed his party colleague Shashi Tharoor over his remarks on the recent Pahalgam terror attack. Questioning his loyalty to the party, Mr Raj said he wondered if Mr Tharoor was speaking for the Congress or aligning himself with the ruling BJP.

"I want to ask Shashi Tharoor, is he in the Congress party or the BJP? Is he trying to become a super-BJP man?" the Congress leader said.

Mr Raj's remarks came a day after Mr Tharoor said the Pahalgam terror attack may have resulted from an intelligence failure and compared it to the Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. He, however, said that people should not focus on the government's failures right now.

"Obviously, there was no foolproof intelligence. There was some failure...But we have got the example of Israel, the world's best intelligence services according to everybody, which was taken by surprise on October 7, just two years ago. It seems to me, just as Israel is waiting till the end of the war before they demand accountability, similarly, I think we too should see the present crisis through and then demand accountability from the government," Mr Tharoor told news agency ANI.

He added, "We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted. We only get to know about the ones that we failed to thwart. This is normal in any nation. There were failures, I agree, but that should not be our main focus right now".

'Become BJP's lawyer?'

Mr Raj, in a long post on X, questioned his party colleague on when he became a "lawyer" for the BJP.

"Shashi Tharoor said no country has 100% foolproof intelligence? During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Modi ji had said after reaching Mumbai from Gujarat that it was the failure of the central government. He had also said that the problem is the centre, not the border. How did the terrorists come when the intelligence, BSF and CRPF are with the Centre. If the BJP government itself admitted the security lapse, then brother Tharoor ji how did you become their lawyer?", he wrote.

"Congress is not in power, yet BJP keeps criticizing from time to time. It is said that during Congress rule terrorists used to kill and get away, so shouldn't you ask how they killed and got away in Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama and Pahalgam?", he further addressed to Mr Tharoor.

According to Mr Raj, his colleague should ask the BJP about PM Modi taking over the PoK.

"You should ask the BJP whether this happened," he said.

"You had praised Modi Ji's US visit, but you got insults from him. You are a Congressman and should ask when Modiji will teach Pakistan a lesson like the Congress government did in 1965 and 1971. If the BJP keeps demanding foolproof intelligence from Congress, then whose side are you standing with?," he added.

On PM Modi cutting his Saudi Arabia visit short and holding a meeting at the airport, Mr Raj told Mr Tharoor, "You did not ask any questions about this drama. He would not have taken even 10 minutes to reach the office and would have held the meeting there."

He also told his colleague to question PM Modi why he did not visit Pahalgam and instead attended an election rally in Bihar.

"According to you, Congress should guarantee foolproof intelligence to the BJP and nothing should be asked from the BJP," Mr Raj added.

Pahalgam terror attack

Twenty-six people, including one Nepali national, were killed and many others were injured as multiple terrorists descended on Baisaran Valley, known as "Mini Switzerland" - a tourist hotspot with rolling hills and verdant orchards - and opened fire on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses said that as the gunshots rang out, there was panic among the tourists who ran for cover. However, there was no place for them to hide in the wide, open space.

A massive hunt has been launched to track down the terrorists, with the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir police cordoning off the area.

Taking strict action, India decided to suspend the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan indefinitely. All Pakistani nationals living in India have also been sent back.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also vowed to "identify, track and punish" every terrorist and their "backers" who were behind the Pahalgam attack.

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