Don't be surprised if India responds again to provocation: Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action.

Speaking at a discussion here, he also said that on the 50th anniversary of Emergency, politicians should dedicate themselves afresh to the Constitution and the values of our founding fathers rather than scoring political points. Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to tell their hosts that India acted with restraint and responsibility, Tharoor said during a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association. Even Colombia, which had issued a statement earlier expressing condolences for those killed in Pakistan, withdrew it, he noted.

"In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self-defence, but they actually commended the restrained manner of our response, that we could have been much worse...So I would say that, by and large, they were all very understanding," said the Congress leader.

"But I would usually end by conveying that they should not be surprised that if this (terrorist attack) happens again, we too would do this again, and we wanted their understanding in advance. And I believe we left everybody in no doubt about our feelings and our intentions," he added. India signaled from the start that it was not interested in protracted conflict or starting a war, Tharoor further said. "What we were interested in was retribution against terrorists, and we only hit terrorist camps, terrorist facilities, terrorist bases. And from our point of view, that was it," he later told media persons at the venue. India's position was that "if Pakistan hits, we hit back, if it stops, we stop, so that the day they signaled that they would stop, India was willing to stop from the very start, and no one needed to persuade India to stop.

"That's what the prime minister has also said. On the other hand, perhaps Pakistan needed persuasion, we don't know what the Americans may have said to Pakistan. If Pakistanis feel they stopped because Americans wanted them to, good for them, that's not a problem for us," he added.

The delegation to five countries led by Tharoor was one of the seven multi-party delegations India dispatched to 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community to highlight Pakistan's links to terrorism. Speaking about the Emergency imposed by the erstwhile Congress government 50 years ago, Tharoor said everyone is very clear that it was "a bad period in our history because of a lot of suspensions (of liberties)," and then prime minister Indira Gandhi herself called elections and gracefully accepted their outcome. "I think all of us should use this anniversary to re-dedicate ourselves to the Constitution, to the values of freedom, to the values that our founders fought for and established," he said, adding, "I hope everyone uses this 50th anniversary not to play political games and score political points, but rather to re-dedicate ourselves to those ideals..."  On his recent Russia visit, Tharoor said it was an opportunity to touch base with his counterparts and meet his "old friend", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"By and large our message (on Operation Sindoor) has been consistent. Fortunately the delegation sent by our government had already been there and met these people, so my task was not a difficult one to reinforce the message," he said. Russia has been India's old and trusted friend and it is always good to maintain these relationships, the Congress leader added.