Court summons Shashi Tharoor over his 'scorpion' remark on PM Modi

New Delhi, Apr 27: A Delhi court on Saturday has summoned Congress leader and former Union minister Shashi Tharoor as an accused over his 'scorpion' remark on the PM Narendra Modi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal was hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed against Tharoor by Delhi BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who has said his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement.

Tharoor stoked a controversy while speaking at the Bangalore Literature Festival, claiming that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivling".

"The unknown remarks that were allegedly made in 2012 were of no consequence at that time, but today with growing worldwide popularity of Modi and the BJP, the accused has deliberately dug out that buried statement to quote and make it relevant in the present context," the complaint said.

A criminal defamation complaint has been filed against Tharoor over his "scorpion" remark against PM Narendra Modi.

The complaint was filed under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), relating to defamation.