Proud Of Hindutva But Won't Prove It By Thrashing People Of Other Religions And Chanting Jai Shri Ram: Shashi Tharoor

The MP said even today the Modi government has not been able to reach close to 80% of the Hindu population of the country.

Jaipur: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the current government at the Centre has injected toxins into the veins of youth of North India.

In a conversation with senior journalist and writer Vir Sanghvi at the Jaipur Literature Festival, he said the Modi government got more votes in 2019 than in 2014. But in 2024, the NDA alliance got only 386 per cent votes. "Even today the Modi government has not been able to reach close to the majority of 80% of the Hindu population of the country," he said. The former diplomat said he is proud of his Hindutva, but he does not want to prove it by beating up people of other religions and chanting Jai Shri Ram.

Tharoor also expressed displeasure over media trial in the country. He mentioned several incidents including the time when he was bombarded with questions as he was grieving the death of his wife. He said when he was with Kofi Annan in the United Nations, he was told that blood does not flow when a shark bites, the meaning of which he understood after the trial of the Indian media and now he considers it more important to write and read rather than answer the allegations against him.

Tharoor said that in the present times, the media cannot raise questions on the government. He said between 2011 and 2013, the media kept raising its voice against corruption in the UPA government and the government did not send ED or CBI to anyone's house then. "At present, the freedom of media is in danger in the country. In today's situation, no one can point a finger at the government despite having evidence," he said, adding investigating agencies reach the house of those who dare to speak up within 24 hours.

Tharoor mentioned an incident when his Twitter account had 10,000 followers, a news was published in a Delhi newspaper. The then then Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh called him to get information on Twitter, but as soon as there was a controversy over his statement on cattle class on Twitter, the leaders who had sought information on the medium Twitter backed off. Tharoor said he left India at the age of 19 and went abroad to study. When he returned, he was 51 years old and is now representing his constituency in the Lok Sabha for the fourth time. Sharing the experience of his first election, he said he did not know much about Malayalam.