Under fire from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for calling former Pakistan President and chief of Army staff Pervez Musharraf, who died on Sunday, “a real force for peace”, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today hit back at the BJP. He questioned why the earlier BJP government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee negotiated a ceasefire with Mr Musharraf.
“Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP Government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?” Mr Tharoor tweeted on Sunday.
Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP Government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then? — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 6, 2023
Countering sharp criticism from top BJP leaders for his condolence message, Shashi Tharoor had earlier said he was “raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die”.
“I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we,” Mr Tharoor had s
