Op Sindoor was necessary and precisely targeted, not a call for war, says Shashi Tharoor; Udit Raj calls him 'spokesperson of BJP'

New Delhi: In a powerful statement underscoring India's measured response to terrorism, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, while strongly defending ‘Operation Sindoor’ emphasised that the mission was a “necessary and precisely targeted and “not a call for war”.

The All-Party Delegation led by Shashi Tharoor reached is in Panama to convey India’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism.

Citing the harrowing plight of 26 women whose “Sindoor” (vermilion) was wiped off from their foreheads by terrorists, Tharoor said, “India’s response was carefully, precisely and calibrated strikes on terror bases—avoiding civilian, military, or government targets entirely”.

He said, “These terrorists came and wiped the Sindoor off their foreheads. Infact there were some women who cried and asked the terrorists "kill me too" and they said No! Go back and tell what happened to you.”

Drawing an emotional parallel between the colour of “Sindoor” and the blood of the terrorists, Tharoor said, “We heard that cry and India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion colour on the forehead of our women also match the colour of the blood of the killers, the perpetrators, the attackers”.

Emphasising India’s commitment to restraint, Tharoor said, “India is not a war-mongrel state. Even when we conducted those attacks on nine terror bases, our government said very clearly, without any doubt we are not looking for any escalation.”

He highlighted that no Pakistani military, government, or civilian targets were struck. “These were carefully, precisely, calibrated strikes. We hit only terror bases. We did not hit any military facility of Pakistan, no government facilities, no civilian homes. Very precise targeting meant that even within the compounds of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) with specific buildings and we did so at night between 1:05 and 1:30 AM. Why, because we did not want to have too much of collateral damage”.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Udit Raj took a dig at Shashi Tharoor by calling him as “spokesperson of BJP”.

He said, “Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP, even declaring as foreign minister before landing in India”.

On his social media handle X, Udit Raj asked Tharoor as to how he could “dismiss the proud legacy of the Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed LOC and International border.”

Udit Raj said, “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 Govt several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash politically. How could you be so dishonest to the party which gave you so much?”

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My dear @ShashiTharoor
Alas ! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP , even declaring 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… https://t.co/c88b8rX2bq

— Dr. Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) May 28, 2025 >

Earlier, the All Party Delegation was warmly received by Ambassador Dr Sumit Seth and other officials at the airport.

The delegation also called on the President of the National Assembly of Panama, Dana Castañeda, who was accompanied by senior members of Parliament Edwin Vergara and Julio de la Guardia. Tharoor explained the mission to her and received strong assurances of understanding and support for India’s war against terror.