Is Tharoor 'super-BJP man'? Cong's Udit Raj slams fellow leader over J&K attack remarks

'I think that message is very clear. They can say what they like and if blood is going to flow I'm sorry to say it will flow possibly more on their side than on ours,' Tharoor stated.

Congress leader Udit Raj slammed Shashi Tharoor for his recent statement on Pahalgam attack which killed 26 tourists, following which India suspended the Indus Water Treaty.

Udit Raj questioned Tharoor's stance on the issue and asked if he is a "BJP spokesperson".

His jibe came after Tharoor in an interview with ANI responded to a comment made by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari where he threatened that blood would flow in rivers if water is stopped, in a sharp response to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack.

"The Indus is ours and will remain ours - either our water will flow through it, or their blood," the former foreign minister had said.

Tharoor said that Bhutto's statement was "inflammatory rhetoric".

"Pakistanis have to understand that they cannot kill Indians with impunity. It's as simple a message as that you want to live your life in peace, we will not bother you, we will leave you in peace. We have no designs on Pakistan we don't want to do anything to the Pakistanis ourselves," Tharoor said.

However, if Pakistan initiates something, Tharoor added that they have to be prepared for a response

"I think that message is very clear. They can say what they like and if blood is going to flow I'm sorry to say it will flow possibly more on their side than on ours," he stated.

Further talking about the attack, the Congress MP pointed out that there was "some failure".

"Obviously, there was no full proof intelligence. There was some failure," he said.

"No country can ever have a foolproof 100 per cent intelligence. We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted. We only get to know 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," he added.

Criticising Tharoor for his remarks, Udit Raj questioned if he is trying to become a "super-BJP man".

"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 Pok?", he said as per ANI.

Further attaching Tharoor, the Congress leader said, "Has he become the advocate of BJP? I want to ask him which terrorist incident took place after 9/11 in America? Has the BJP appointed him as its spokesperson?"

Last week, India announced a set of diplomatic measures, including the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post, alleging cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack.

The government issued an official notification on holding the Indus Water Treaty in "abeyance", sources said.

India and Pakistan signed the Indus Water Treaty on September 19, 1960 after nine years of negotiations with the sole aim to manage issues relating to cross-border rivers.

(With PTI inputs)