NEW DELHI: Unfazed by the ‘Hindu Pak’ jibe, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday refuse to say ‘sorry and said he was simply highlighting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ideology through his comment.
“There is nothing to apologize. I am quoting their own leaders and their ideology. If you read the basic philosophy of the BJP, it is Hindutva. The RSS and BJP leaders openly speak about a Hindu rashtra.”
“I think the BJP needs to read its own ideological convictions and tell us what they stand for. We have seen in the writings of the Hindutva ideologues, who they still swear allegiance to. I am simply doing them the favour of taking their own writings seriously,” he said.
A combative Tharoor also stated that the Congress Party needs not to apologise.
“First of all, I am not a spokesperson for the Congress; I am speaking for myself as a Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram. Secondly, I am merely repeating what is on the record for the BJP and the RSS. How can one apologise for reflecting their views accurately?” he said.
Addressing an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor, on Wednesday, stated that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it will write a new Constitution, which will pave the way for a nation, much like Pakistan, where rights of minorities are not respected.
He said that if re-elected, the BJP will “tear apart” the constitution and will write a new one “which will enshrine principles of Hindu Rashtra, that will remove equality for minorities and create a ‘Hindu Pakistan’.
