'Extremely Rewarding Day': Shashi Tharoor On Meeting US Congressmen, Senators

NDTV

7 days ago

Washington:
The multi-party delegation of Indian parliamentarians had an 'extremely rewarding' day meeting US Congressmen and Senators at Capitol Hill, briefing them about Operation Sindoor and India's fight against terrorism, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said.
'Spending a day on Capitol Hill has been extremely rewarding because we were able to meet many Congressmen, Senators,' Mr Tharoor, the leader of the delegation, said during a conversation at The National Press Club here on Wednesday.
The delegation, which arrived from India on May 24, travelled to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil before visiting Washington for the final leg of the tour to convey India's stance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
The team, apart from Mr Tharoor, comprised MPs Sarfaraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Milind Deora, Tejasvi Surya, and India's former ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu, arrived in the US capital on Tuesday and began its packed day of meetings with lawmakers and government officials on Wednesday.
'Broadly, what we are seeking to do in every country is to explain our version of events, our experience over the last few weeks, to seek the solidarity and understanding of those we meet. And I'm very pleased to say that so far, our batting average is over a 100,' Mr Tharoor said.
He said every single person the team met so far had immediately not only condemned resolutely the terrorist attack upon India, expressed their outrage and sympathy, but also explicitly endorsed India's right to defend itself against terrorism.
'This kind of understanding has been most welcome,' he said, adding that "we left the Hill very pleased with the quality of the conversations, the level of interest".
'There is tremendous interest in every country and on the Hill in strengthening relations with India across the board. It's not just a question of standing with us against terror. They are also thinking positively about economic development cooperation, trade, and investment,' he said.
Addressing a press conference at the Indian Embassy, Mr Tharoor later said that in the delegation's meeting with US lawmakers and congressmen at Capitol Hill, 'we didn't have a single sceptical or negative voice".
"On the contrary, what we got was a very, very positive response,' he said. "We had a very good session." He said the two key lines he would use to describe the meetings were total support and solidarity for India in its fight against terrorism, and complete understanding of India's right to defend itself against terrorism.
On both these points, 'very, very clear'.
The delegation met bipartisan co-chairs of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives, Congressmen Ro Khanna and Rich McCormick, and vice co-chairs Congressman Andy Barr and Marc Veasey.
The parliamentary delegation briefed the Caucus members "on the cross-border terrorism faced by India and India's strong and resolute stance in the fight against terror", the Indian Embassy said on X.
"The congressmen expressed unequivocal and bipartisan condemnation for the terror attack in Pahalgam. They expressed support for India's right to respond to terrorism in the spirit of zero tolerance against terrorism. The Caucus members also hailed the strong strategic partnership between India and the US,' the post said.
The delegation held 'candid and fruitful exchange' with House Foreign Affairs Committee leadership, including chair representative Brian Mast, ranking member representative Gregory Meeks, South and Central Asia subcommittee chair Rep. Bill Huizenga, ranking member congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, ranking member representative Ami Bera, and East Asia and Pacific subcommittee representative Young Kim.
'The Parliamentary delegation briefed the committee members on the success of Operation Sindoor in defining a new normal in India's fight against cross-border terrorism. The committee leadership condemned the Pahalgam attack unequivocally. India and the USA stand together in their unwavering resolve and fight against terrorism in all its forms,' the embassy said in a post on X.
The delegation was 'warmly received' at the United States Capitol by a bipartisan group of senior US Senators, including leading members from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Intelligence Committee, and the Senate India Caucus.
The parliamentary delegation discussed the success of Operation Sindoor, laid out details of Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism, and outlined India's firm resolve to appropriately deal with any such future incidents.
The embassy expressed gratitude to leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) subcommittee dealing with South Asia and Counterterrorism Senator Dave McCormick and Senator Jacky Rosen for hosting the meeting, and Chairman Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Jim Risch, Vice Chairman Senate Intel Committee Senator Mark Warner, Member SFRC and Intel Committee Senator John Cornyn and Member Intel Committee Sen. Elissa Slotkin 'for joining the substantive and productive discussion'.
Responding to a question about Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick recently saying that there were certain things the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way, for instance buying its military gear from Russia, Mr Tharoor said there was a 'steady change' in the pattern of dependence on certain weapon suppliers.
He said that India still needs a lot of Russian spare parts, but "it's come down a lot from the peak".
He added that in comparison, 81 per cent of Pakistan's weapon systems and imports were from China.
'We don't have that kind of dependence. We've diversified, we have American weaponry, we're very much in the market for more, whatever the Americans are prepared to discuss with us and sell us, we certainly hope we'll move forward,' he said, adding that India also purchased defence equipment from France and Israel.
Responding to a similar question during the press briefing at the Indian Embassy, Surya said the issue did surface in a couple of discussions the delegation had.
'But we made it very clear to the Americans that, unlike Pakistan, whose bulk of armament and military hardware -- 81 per cent comes from China, India's military hardware is not only growing indigenously, but is also very diverse,' Surya said.
"We have a very diverse set of countries that we purchase from with whom we have tactical and strategic partnerships', unlike Pakistan, whose 81 per cent of military equipment comes from China, Surya said.
'Of late, Pakistan has been surviving on cheap Chinese imports, including their military hardware, which spectacularly failed on the battlefield. So perhaps it is hard for them to digest high-quality, high-calibre military hardware, as well as strong democratic leadership on the other side of the border,' Surya said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7.
Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.
The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.