New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faced heavy backlash from the Uttar Pradesh BJP clan after sharing an examination paper sheet, where the student described UP as a state where answers are known in advance, late on the night of June 22.
The Post: On June 22, Tharoor took to his X handle and posted an image, captioning it to be 'Shandar#parikshapecharcha'. The image was of a question paper in which was asked in Hindi, "What is called Uttar Pradesh?" The answer was: "a state where uttar (meaning answers) are known before the exam." The caption is a direct jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to interact with students.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP's post was a direct attack on the Centre over multiple cases of paper leaks in state-level and all-India examinations. The post also reflects Tharoor's mockery at the irregularities in competitive examinations like NEET-UG.
Alleged irregularities in the exam have prompted the government to order a CBI investigation. Amid the row, the government has postponed three other all-India exams, triggering a sharp response from Opposition parties.
24 lakh students took the exam, but soon after that reports of alleged irregularities came to notice, forcing the government to order a CBI inquiry. Opposition parties responded sharply when the administration postponed three more all-India exams in the midst of the controversy.
BJP Leaders Criticise Post: Mr Tharoor's post, however, has drawn severe criticism in Uttar Pradesh, with BJP leaders accusing him of insulting the state. Union Minister Jitin Prasada on Sunday, June 23, said that he did not see the humour in "running down my state and its people by stereotyping them with such condemnable remarks". He also said such an insult to UP was "deplorable and must be condemned in strongest words".
Rajeev Chandrashekar, a former Union Minister, soon weighed in, terming the post to be shameless crass politics of shaming fellow Indians. "Shameless crass politics of shaming other fellow Indians - that's the Congress way, ably demonstrated by this self-titled Global citizen. It was just a few months ago, another of Cong 'global citizens' Pitroda described Indians as Africans, Chinese, Middle eastern etc. Runs deep in the Cong DNA, this type of superiority complex," he wrote.
Rajasthan minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. "Shashi, you having to resort to frivolity!! And in doing so condemning people of an entire state? You don't see UP as yours, since you are deriding it," he posted.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too left no stones untouched in coming down hard on Tharoor and mocked him in fancy vocabulary, taking a jibe at the Congressman's practise. "This gentleman frequently indulges in satirizing various cultures (first Northeast and now UP) with remarkably caustic words. He has succumbed to the beguiling whispers of lunacy, his mind adrift in the ethereal mists of derangement," Sarma posted.
BJP's national spokesperson CR Kesavan called Mr Tharoor "a repeat offender who had earlier gravely insulted our North East brothers and sisters by ridiculing their traditional attire as outlandish".
Public Lashes Out: Netizens too, reacted sharply to the post and vented in the comments section. A user said, "Goodone , WA joke ...Don't forget your half European Boss politically represents Uttar Pradesh !" Another one wrote, "Mr Oxford dictionary. Stop making fun of UP or else it will be difficult to walk on the streets of the state for the jokers from ur party and ur alliance partner."
Another person went on to say, "Irrespective of this is a Fake exam paper , @ShashiTharoor has the audacity to abuse a state which was ruled by @INCIndia and its allies for 65 out of 75 years UP is also state that has delivered three prime ministers from the Congress party Why did @INCIndia make UP such a state Mr Shampoo Man ?!!"
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