Even land of Gandhi won't turn other cheek: Shashi Tharoor's Op Sindoor message

India Today

2 days ago

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday issued a stern warning to Pakistan, declaring that India will retaliate forcefully against any future terrorist attacks on its soil. Quoting the Father of the Nation, the former diplomat said the days of turning the other cheek are over.'Even the land of Mahatma Gandhi will not turn the other cheek when this happens — we will respond,' said Tharoor at an event hosted by the Indian embassy in Panama.advertisementTharoor is heading an all-party delegation to Panama as part of India's global outreach following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor targeting terrorist infrastructure across the border. The delegation, one of six others, was sent to countries including the United States, Brazil, and Colombia to present a unified national stand against terrorism.
Reiterating the country's stance of zero tolerance for terror, the Congress leader said India must go after not only the terrorists but also those who enable and support them.'Terrorism should not be a resort of attempting to address international disputes. If there are problems, there are other ways of dealing with them. Sending terrorists across the border is simply unacceptable and that should be made clear,' Tharoor said. 'We should go after the perpetrators, the killers, ourselves, and we will do so,' he stated. 'But those who give them safe haven, those who protect, finance, train, arm, dispatch, and guide them should also be held accountable.'advertisementTharoor condemned the attacks by what he described as "malign men" who wrongly believe that violence against innocents will further a political or religious cause. "That is not something that any self-respecting country will give into," he noted, in a swipe at Pakistan.His strong words, however, have invited reproof from within his own party. Several Congress leaders have hit out at Tharoor over his remarks abroad praising the Narendra Modi government's crackdown on terrorism.Tharoor's party colleague Udit Raj accused him of acting like a "super spokesperson of the BJP" and Modi sycophant following the Rajya Sabha MP's comments that the 2016 surgical strikes were the first breach of the Line of Control by Indian forces.Senior leader Pawan Khera also indirectly rebuked Tharoor, sharing a video of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claiming that similar strikes were conducted during the UPA regime, a move widely seen as a pointed message that the party's unhappy with him.Must Watch