New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday slammed the Congress for criticising MP Shashi Tharoor, saying that unfair criticism of Tharoor reflects the frustration currently prevailing within the grand old party, and it must rise above the party politics on the national issues.

As part of the Indian delegation, Shashi Tharoor, in Panama, said that India crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time in 2016 for a surgical strike on a terror base, leading to backlash from several Congressmen.

Sanjay Nirupam defended Tharoor, saying that Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP, is currently leading one of the seven parliamentary delegations sent by the Indian government to different countries.

He added that his mission is to expose Pakistan’s actions, but unfortunately, while he is representing the country abroad, members of his own party are targeting him at home.

“When will Congress leaders understand that on national issues, we must rise above party politics? Shashi Tharoor is proving to be a more mature leader than most others in the party. He is involved in Operation Sindoor outreach,” Nirupam told IANS.

He further said, “We avenged the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. We took revenge on behalf of our mothers and sisters by eliminating hundreds of terrorists.”

He emphasised that now, India Members of Parliament are explaining these operations on global platforms and garnering support for India.

“This is an important and honourable task on both national and international levels. If the BJP-led government is entrusting such a responsibility to Shashi Tharoor, Congress should feel proud. They should thank the BJP for recognising the talent within their ranks. But instead, Congress leaders are trying to defame Tharoor, which reveals the deep frustration within the party,” he said.

Earlier, Shashi Tharoor’s remark drew sharp reactions from within the Congress itself, with the party leader Udit Raj labelling Tharoor the “Super Spokesperson of the BJP.”

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also challenged Tharoor’s claim, referencing Tharoor’s own 2018 book ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’, in which he criticised the BJP’s “shameless exploitation” of the 2016 surgical strikes for electoral gains.

The book explicitly mentioned that the Congress had authorised several similar operations during its tenure, but refrained from politicising them.

Nirupam further reacted to recent comments made by Bala Darade, Deputy Chief of the Nashik city unit of Shiv Sena (UBT), who threatened to blacken the face of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over his alleged remarks on Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

“It’s a shameful moment for Shiv Sena (UBT) when Congress and Rahul Gandhi make such remarks,” he said.

He added that Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter who struggled for India’s independence and was a great thinker.

He also criticised the LoP Rahul Gandhi’s alleged objectionable remarks, saying that it does not reflect the Congress’s ideology but rather that of the leftists.

“When Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, she respected Savarkar. If Rahul Gandhi doesn’t stop, and if Shiv Sena (UBT) truly has Bal Thackeray’s blood in their veins, they should respond. If they don’t, it will be clear that Bal Thackeray’s legacy no longer runs through them,” he concluded.

–IANS

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