Master communicator at work: Tharoor says of Modi

New Delhi, Feb 1: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who only recently earned the party's wrath for praising Narendra Modi, says in the Prime Minister "we are all seeing a master communicator at work" but hit out at BJP for "promoting a nakedly bigoted Hindutva agenda".

Noting that communication has been a major strength of the NDA government, particularly Modi, he said, "The Prime Minister is very effective in speech-making, comes up with slogans, sound bites, photo ops in quite an unparalleled way.

"There is no question that we are all seeing a master communicator at work. And that has its merits but it is not enough." Tharoor has praised Modi quite a few times recently which was frowned upon by Congress.

Last year, he was removed as party spokesperson for his praise of Modi. He, however, said not much of what Modi has promised has been implemented.

"After all, the people who voted for Modi thought they were voting for a man of action. So far instead of a man of action, the nation has got a man of words and the real question that comes is when these words get translated into results," the former diplomat-turned politician told PTI.

"Consciousness raising is fine and the Prime Minister has raided consciousness on some issues but implementation is essential. The gap between rhetoric and results in Modi's government is wide enough to drive a rath through," he said.

He also dismissed rumours that he is cosying up to BJP, saying he will remain a Congressman. Tharoor, who has recently come out with a book "India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in Our Time", took strong exception to some saffron leaders' recent comments.

"The party and the political machinery that Modi is riding to get to his goals is a profoundly illiberal. The language used by RSS and saffron leaders is simply divisive and not unifying.

"You can't say 'sabka saath sabka vikas' and then have ministers using outrageous language. You can't have leading lights of the party hailing (Nathuram) Godse and talking about how many children women should bear," he said.

"Your party is simply promoting a nakedly bigoted Hindutva agenda," Tharoor said. He also questioned Modi for not taking a tough stand on his ministers for their comments, saying, "Instead of silencing them, Modi himself is silent on the issue.

"This silence of the Prime Minister tantamounts to condoning it and if you condone it you are undermining your own declared objective."

PTI