Ansari stays away from Tharoor controversy

Former vice president Hamid Ansari on Thursday chose to stay away from the controversy surrounding Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's 'Hindu Pakistan' remark.

Speaking to ANI, Ansari said, "I haven't read what Shashi Tharoor has said. But he is a well-educated man, a writer, Member of Parliament (MP) and the Chairman of the external affairs committee of the Parliament. He makes thoughtful considerations.."

Earlier, Tharoor had said that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it will create a condition leading to the formation of a 'Hindu Pakistan'.

Addressing an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor further stated that the BJP will write a new Constitution which will pave the way for a nation, much like Pakistan, where rights of minorities are not respected.

"If they (BJP) win a repeat in the Lok Sabha our democratic constitution as we understand it will not survive as they will have all the elements they need to tear apart the constitution of India and write a new one," he said.

"That new one will be the one which will enshrine principles of Hindu Rashtra, that will remove equality for minorities, that'll create a Hindu Pakistan and that isn't what Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and great heroes of freedom struggle fought for," he added.

Criticising Tharoor's statement, the BJP demanded Congress president Rahul Gandhi's apology.

"Rahul Gandhi must apologise for what Shashi Tharoor said. Congress was responsible for the creation of Pakistan because of its ambitions yet again it has gone ahead to demean India and defame Hindus of India," said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Patra also took to Twitter and said that the Congress doesn't lose any opportunity to demean India and defame Hindus.