New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chugh has lashed out at the Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel for making an outrageous and deeply insensitive remark that 'terrorism has benefitted the BJP.'

Chugh said, 'This isn't just a slip of the tongue -- it reflects the Congress party's distorted, dangerous, and defeatist mindset. Will Congress now evaluate terrorism -- which has claimed the lives of countless soldiers and civilians -- by calculating who gained and who lost politically?'

He questioned whether Congress has sunk to such depths that even an issue as grave as terrorism is now seen through the lens of electoral arithmetic.

'What a shame that the party which ruled India for decades cannot rise above vote-bank politics, even while discussing the bloodshed of innocent Indians,' Chugh said.

Chugh reminded that under the Congress regime, particularly from 2004 to 2014, India faced one terrorist attack after another -- from Delhi to Mumbai, Hyderabad to Bangalore -- yet there was no decisive response, no accountability, and no justice.

'After 26/11, the nation expected retribution. Instead, Congress sent dossiers and love letters to Pakistan,' he said.

Slamming Bhupesh Baghel, Chugh stated, 'If he truly believes that the BJP benefitted from terrorism, then he is not just mocking the martyrdom of our brave soldiers -- he is spitting on the pain of every Indian who has suffered from the horrors of terrorism. This is not politics; this is moral decay. For decades, Congress had the opportunity and the mandate to root out terrorism, but it chose silence and appeasement over action. Where there should have been strikes, there were excuses. Where there should have been resolve, there were dossiers. Rahul Gandhi must answer whether this shameful mindset is now Congress's official position.'

Tarun Chugh expressed his strong support for the all-party delegation that has recently travelled abroad to expose Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. He said this is a much-needed unified effort to present India's case to the global community.

Chugh emphasised that when it comes to national security and the threat of terrorism, political lines must disappear, and the message must be clear: India will not tolerate cross-border terror, and the world must hold Pakistan accountable.

Referring to the recent targeting of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor by his own party colleagues -- including Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Udit Raj -- for exposing Pakistan on global platforms, Chugh said, 'In today's Congress, if you speak for India, you are branded a traitor. If you expose Pakistan, you're attacked by your own. Is this the Indian National Congress -- or a confused club of Pakistan's blue-eyed boys?'

Chugh concluded, 'Congress is no longer a mainstream national party. It has become a confused, compromised cartel that sees nationalism as a crime and treats Pakistan -- a state sponsoring global terrorism -- as a friend. That is the stark difference between the BJP's nationalism and Congress's directionless, anti-India politics.'

After facing a backlash from his party over his endorsement of the BJP-led Central government over Operation Sindoor, Tharoor slammed his critics for 'distorting' his views.

In a post on X, Tharoor pointed out that he spoke only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars.

'After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight where with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this -- but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC in the past, I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars,' he said. (ANI)