'Everything I tweet is my personal opinion': Shashi Tharoor

“Everything I tweet is my personal opinion”, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday, a day after his Twitter post on Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitras Goddess Kali remark on Goddess Kali was termed as “personal opinion” by his party.

Two points:
1. Everything I tweet is my personal opinion. I don’t have any other kind.
2. “Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything.” ~ Alexander Hamilton

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 7, 2022

Without making any reference, Tharoor tweeted, “Two points: 1. Everything I tweet is my personal opinion. I dont have any other kind. 2. Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything. – Alexander Hamilton.” Moitra on Tuesday had stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as “an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess”, as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.

While the BJP severely criticised Moitra and her party Trinamool Congress distanced itself from the comment and condemned it, Tharoor said he was “taken aback by the attack on Moitra” and urged everyone to “lighten up and leave religion to individuals to practice privately”.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Tharoor said,”I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess”.

“We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. Its obvious that @MahuaMoitra wasnt trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately,” he said.

When asked about Tharoors post, Congress communication department head Pawan Khera said the partys stand is that these comments are Tharoors “personal opinion”.

Replying to a post criticising him for his remarks and accusing him of “selective politics”, Tharoor had also ticked off the person, saying “if you cant tell the difference between a Hindu lady insulting the Prophet of Islam and a Hindu lady describing ways in which devotion is expressed to a Hindu goddess, then Im afraid youre beyond redemption”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)