Musharraf became ‘real force for peace’, says Tharoor; BJP slams ‘Pak worship’

In a tweet referencing his interactions with Musharraf while he was a United Nations official, Tharoor said: “Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the @un & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP.”

Quoting Tharoor’s tweet, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said there was “nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a ‘force for peace’ and develop ‘clear strategic thinking’”. “Not withstanding many lives lost and international laws violated and harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India,” he wrote.

In another tweet, the MoS said: “That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a back-stabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every intl law, wud be a ‘force for peace’ – best describes Cong.”

Hitting out at Tharoor, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused the Congress of eulogising the architect of the Kargil War. “Sharm ek Sheikh to Sharm Kar Shashi. Misplaced priorities of a former external affairs minister. Congress eulogising a person who attacked our country during Kargil. Indians revere martyrs Capt Vikram Batra, Lt Manoj Pandey, Grn Yogendra Yadav, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, not Pervez,” Bhatia tweeted.

Referring to Musharraf as a dictator who “considered Taliban & Osama as brothers & heroes”, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla wrote: “Are you surprised? Again, Congress ki pak parasti! Once upon a time Musharraf had hailed Rahul Gandhi as a gentleman perhaps that endears Congress to Musharraf?”