Be cautious, Congress tells Tharoor

REMARK THAT BJP WOULD TURN INDIA INTO A ‘HINDU PAKISTAN’ STIRS A ROW

Aday after veteran Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that India will become a ‘Hindu Pakistan’ if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2019, his party yesterday advised him to exercise caution in “choosing words” to counter the ruling party.

Addressing an event in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, Tharoor had said that BJP will write a new Constitution which will pave the way for a nation, much like Pakistan.

“If BJP wins a repeat in the Lok Sabha, our democratic Constitution as we understand will not survive as they will have all the elements they need to tear apart the Constitution of India and write a new one,” the former union minister said.

He stated that there was a great danger that the new Constitution created by BJP would enshrine the principles of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ (Hindu nation) and remove equality for minorities.

“That will create a Hindu Pakistan and that is not what Mahatama Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and great heroes of freedom struggle fought for. The BJP already has more than 20 states under its belt, so a Rajya Sabha majority looks near. Now, if they could muster what they managed during the last Lok Sabha polls, India is done for,” Tharoor said.

Reacting to that, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala yesterday asked Tharoor to exercise restraint.

“The Narendra Modi government has been thriving upon an unprecedented atmosphere of division, bigotry, hatred, intolerance and polarisation for last four years. The grand old party Congress, on the other hand, represents India’s civilisational values of pluralism, diversity, compassion and harmony between faiths and ethnicities. I urge Congress leaders to keep this in mind while rejecting BJP’s hatred,” Surjewala said in a series of tweets.

Criticising Tharoor’s statement, BJP demanded Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s apology.

Tharoor, however, defended his statement in a Facebook post.