Shashi Tahoor meets Brazil VP Alckmin, Discusses Terrorism and Strengthening Ties

“Not War, But Retribution for Terror”: Tharoor Leads Indian Delegation Explains Operation Sindoor in Brazil  

03 June, 2025:

An all-party Indian Parliamentary delegation, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, held a meeting with Brazil’s Acting Foreign Minister Maria Laura da Rocha on Monday. During the discussions, both sides explored ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in key areas such as counter-terrorism, the promotion of multilateralism, and the reinforcement of shared democratic values.

The whole idea of Operation Sindoor was to signal that India is not trying to start a war, but just conducting “retribution for an act of terror,” in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Tharoor said during the interaction. 

The Indian Embassy in Brazil stated on social media platform X: “A high-level All-Party Delegation led by MP Shashi Tharoor met with the Acting Foreign Minister of Brazil, Ambassador Maria Laura da Rocha. They expressed gratitude to Brazil for its understanding and support in the fight against terrorism, shared views on the Pahalgam attack, and discussed enhancing cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, multilateralism, and the promotion of democratic values.”

“The whole idea was to signal that we are not trying to start a war, we are just conducting retribution for an act of terror, which was a really vile act, 26 people being killed. It was horrendous and it was meant to do the maximum possible damage to India, to disrupt the Kashmiri economy, which was booming, to end the prospects of tourism flourishing in Kashmir…also to perhaps create a communal backlash in India,” Tharoor said in Brazil.

“We don't want to recapture Pakistan or make it part of India again -- nothing like that. We want to be left alone to grow and to promote prosperity and the well-being of our people. That's the Indian story for centuries. Why would we want distraction or war? It's not us who want war and conflict, it all comes from the other side,” he further stated. 

“Excellent & highly productive meeting with Senator Nelsinho Trad, President of the India-Brazil Friendship Front & President of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Deeply appreciate his insightful understanding & strong endorsement of India's perspective on recent events. Such solidarity strengthens the bonds between our democracies!” Following the meeting, Sashi Tharoor posted this on the social media platform X.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, a member of the delegation, also posted on X, “India and Brazil share a deeply valued partnership across multiple multilateral platforms. We discussed the significance of Operation Sindoor and collaborative efforts to address terrorism.”

The delegation includes Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Sarfaraz Ahmad, Telugu Desam Party MP GM Harish Balayogi, Bharatiya Janata Party MPs — Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Tejasvi Surya, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora and Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.