KOCHI: Congress MP and writer Shashi Tharoor has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an excellent salesman with an empty bag. "The people have now realized the bluff of Modi and the BJP would see the result in the next general elections," he said. He was speaking with K.J. Jacob, Executive Editor, Deccan Chronicle, at an 'In conversation' programme based on his book 'Why I am a Hindu' as part of the Krithi international book festival here on Friday.
On the BJP winning 282 seats in the last Parliament elections, Mr Tharoor said Mr Modi had won 100 more seats than that by Mr A.B. Vajpayee not on account of Hindutva but by cleverly packaging a development agenda. Making a scathing attack on political Hindutva, Mr Tharoor equated the intolerance and violence unleashed by Sangh Parivar supporters with the British football hooligans. He said violence unleashed by the RSS is no different from the violence by football hooligans who believe that only their team has the right to win.
Taking exception to the Sangh Parivar version of Indian culture and religion, Mr Tharoor said Hinduism has nothing to do with the bigoted version propounded by the RSS. "An arrow pierces only one part of the body but the poison spreads to the entire body," he said referring to the tendency of attributing the violence and intolerance to fringe elements. He also felt that the Congress should have taken more active steps to resolve the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhumi dispute and described the demolition of the mosque as a very shameful incident.
