“If BJP Wants to Attack Vajpayee…”: Shashi Tharoor on Musharraf following the controversy
BJP members were outraged by Shashi Tharoor’s remark, with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar claiming it “best describes Congress.”
Shashi Tharoor, a leader in the Congress, claimed on Monday that the BJP was attacking its “own PM” in response to the BJP’s jab on his tweet of condolences for the former military dictator of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.
The Congress MP stated on Monday, according the sources: “Why the BJP wants to criticise its own Prime Minister (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) for his policies is beyond me. After Musharraf’s passing, I thought back to how they (Vajpayee and Musharraf) had been sworn opponents who then spent four years trying to make peace. I’ll let the BJP choose whether or not to criticise Vajpayee. We would be impolite to Vajpayee, “Mr. Tharoor added.
Following criticism from the BJP over an earlier tweet in which he referred to the former military ruler—widely regarded as the architect of the Kargil conflict of 1999—as a “genuine force for peace,” Mr. Tharoor issued a clarification.
According to Mr. Tharoor, the joint statement and subsequent handshake between the two leaders were the result of negotiations between the BJP government and Pakistan under PM Vajpayee.
“Kargil was caused by Musharraf, a ferociously hostile adversary of ours. However, things changed after 2002. Pakistan and the BJP government of Prime Minister Vajpayee arranged a cease-fire. Vajpayee and Musharraf made a joint statement before shaking hands “affirmed Mr. Tharoor.
If Pervez Musharraf was ‘anathema to all patriotic Indians,’ why did the BJP negotiate a truce and sign a joint declaration with him? Added Mr. Tharoor.
“If Musharraf was hated by all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP administration negotiate a truce with him in 2003 and sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf declaration in 2004? This is a question for BJP leaders who are spitting fire. Was he thus not considered a reliable peace partner?” Tweeted by Mr. Tharoor.
“I was up in India, where it’s customary to remember individuals well when they pass away. Musharraf was an unforgiving foe who was in charge of Kargil, but from 2002 to 2007, he worked for peace with India out of self-interest. He was not a buddy, but he understood the strategic value of peace, just as we did “Earlier, Mr. Tharoor tweeted.
“Pervez Musharraf, the former leader of Pakistan, passed away from a rare disease; he was previously India’s most ferocious adversary but transformed himself between 2002 and 2007. At the UN, where I saw him every year at the time, I found him to be intelligent, engaging, and strategic in his thinking. RIP, “In a tweet, Mr. Tharoor expressed his condolences to the former military government of Pakistan.
The BJP harshly criticised Mr. Tharoor’s tweet, stating that it “perfectly reflects the Congress,” according to Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
“There is nothing like a good military beating to turn Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals into “forces for peace” and foster “clear strategic thinking.” These Generals will have their admiring supporters in India despite the numerous lives lost, international laws broken, and harm perpetrated everywhere “Chandrasekhar sent a tweet.
Another tweet from Mr. Chandrasekhar stated, “That a former Cong Foreign Minister (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas until 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict, and tortured our Soldiers in violation of every International Law, wud be a force for peace — best describes Cong.”
After a protracted illness, Musharraf passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the UAE, according to Daily Pakistan.
During the Kargil War, Musharraf oversaw the Pakistani army.