Congress' Udit Raj hits out at Shashi Tharoor over remarks on Pahalgam attack: 'Trying to be a super-BJP man?'

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Udit Raj on Sunday strongly criticised his party colleague Shashi Tharoor for his remarks over the Pahalgam terror attack , questioning Tharoor's loyalty to the party.

Speaking to ANI, Raj asked, "Is Shashi Tharoor in the Congress party or the BJP ? Is he trying to become a super-BJP man?" He further challenged Tharoor to question the BJP government about their plans regarding PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and questioned whether he had become "the BJP's advocate."

“I want to ask him which terrorist attack occurred in America after 9/11? Has the BJP made him its spokesperson?" Raj asked.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks, Congress leader Udit Raj says, "I want to ask Shashi Tharoor, is he in the Congress party or the BJP?...Is he trying to become a super-BJP man? Shashi Tharoor should ask the BJP when the government is taking the… https://t.co/H7uHc2nYY8 pic.twitter.com/f8vBYf8j19

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2025

Shashi Tharoor on Sunday had said that the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack may have resulted from an intelligence failure, comparing it to the October 7, 2023, Hamas strike that caught Israel — known for its robust intelligence network — by surprise.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor had said, "Obviously, there was no full proof intelligence. There was some failure... But we have got the example of Israel, the world's best intelligence services according to everybody, which were 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. No country can ever have a foolproof 100 per cent intelligence."

Tharoor also added that while successful prevention of terror attacks often goes unnoticed, failures tend to attract greater attention.

"We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted. We only learn 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...," the Congress leader said.

The April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, targeted tourists, leaving 26 people dead. The victims were shot near Baisaran Meadow, a well-known tourist spot. It is one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama attack.