Shashi Tharoor defends ‘good Hindu’ remark after BJP, RSS slam him, says words distorted by media
New Delhi, Oct 15: Facing backlash from the BJP over his comment on the Ram Temple, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter on Monday to say that his comments had been distorted by "some media in service of political masters".
Swamy calls Shashi Tharoor 'neech aadmi'
He 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'". "I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival and gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party and did not claim to be speaking for Congress," he said.
Tharoor has kicked up a row by saying that no "good" Hindu would favour a Ram temple in Ayodhya by demolishing somebody else's place of worship.
His remarks drew stinging criticism from the BJP which dubbed his party and its chief Rahul Gandhi "anti-Hindu".
Floccinaucinihilipilification", the new word used by Tharoor that has left Twitterati flabbergasted
Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday distanced itself from its leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks that no good Hindu would want the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by destroying somebody else's place of worship, saying he made them in his "personal capacity".
Tharoor,
who
is
Congress
MP
from
Thiruvananthapuram,
made
the
controversial
comments
at
an
event
in
Chennai
on
Sunday.
"As
a
Hindu,
obviously,
I
am
conscious
that
a
vast
majority
of
my
fellow
Hindus
believe
that
that
was
the
specific
birthplace
of
Ram.
"For
this
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
that
a
temple
be
built
by
demolishing
somebody
else's
place
of
worship,"
he
said.
(With PTI inputs)