New Delhi: Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that he condemned the “malicious distortion” of his words on Ram temple at the site of razed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Tharoor, at a literature festival in Chennai, kicked up a row with remarks that no "good" Hindu would favour a Ram temple in Ayodhya by demolishing somebody else's place of worship, drawing stinging criticism from the BJP which dubbed his party and its chief Rahul Gandhi "anti- Hindu".
Tharoor said that “as a Hindu, he was very conscious” that a vast majority of Hindus believed that Ayodhya site was the specific birthplace of Lord Ram, reported NDTV.
"And for that reason, most good Hindus would want to see a Ram temple at the site where Ram was supposed to be born. But I also believe that no good Hindu would have wanted to see that temple built by demolishing somebody else's place of worship," Tharoor said, referring to the demolition of Babri mosque by thousands of kar sevaks in December 1992.
BJP’s Nalin Kohli attacked Tharoor on his statement and said, “Who are the Congress or Tharoor to decide? Who are they to certify who is a good Hindu and who is bad Hindu? How can they play with the faith of crores of people?"
Tharoor’s statement provoked sharp reactions and he decided to set the record straight in his tweets.
Tharoor tweeted:
I condemn the malicious distortion of my words by some media in the service of political masters. I said: “most Hindus would want a temple at what they believe to be Ram’s birthplace. But no good Hindu would want it to be built by destroying another’s place of worship.”
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 15, 2018
Congress leader clarified that he expressed as a personal opinion and had not spoken on the behalf of the party.
I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival & gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party & did not claim to be speaking for @incindia. https://t.co/aKeJvdLoqG
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 15, 2018
Read: Rahul, Tharoor may not want but nation wants Ram temple in Ayodhya: BJP
In some reports, Congress MP's comment became this: "No good Hindu would want temple at the Babri mosque site".
BJP hit back at Tharoor over his remarks and spokesman Sambit Patra said they “exposed” the real face of Rahul Gandhi.
Previously, Tharoor had sparked off a controversy in July with comments that if BJP comes to power again, it will rewrite the Constitution that would eventually create a “Hindu Pakistan”.
(With PTI inputs)
