Tharoor questions Modi's 'tolerance' of controversy

In the wake of the furore created over union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's abusive remarks at an election rally in Delhi, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "tolerance" of controversial issues.

"His speeches are about inclusion, tolerance and reaching out to people but at the same time he condones hate speeches by people who he then appoints to his council of ministers.

"So somebody (Giriraj Singh) who says those don't vote for Modi should go to Pakistan... somebody who uses unprintable language (Jyoti), she remains a minister," Tharoor told the media on the sidelines of a programme here.

Jyoti, who is minister of state for food processing industries, reportedly said at a public meeting: "Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki." (You have to decide if you want a government in Delhi to be led by the children of Lord Ram or illegitimate children).

Her comments have rocked the two houses of Indian parliament over the past few days.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP also pointed out the divide between Modi's preaching the "right things" and practicing the "right" steps.

"On one hand we listen to his words, he says all the right words, he hasn't said a wrong word. On the other hand we listen to what he tolerates around him, where is the real message?

"Modi has been saying the right things but has he been doing the right things? This is my question and it still remains a question," Tharoor said, highlighting the "political polarisation" in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh bye-elections.

Tharoor, who was one of the main speakers at the Leadership Keynotes seminar "Driving Excellence through Creativity" at the INFOCOMA2014, stated Jyoti's comments go against the "ethos and spirit" of India.

The former union minister said the remarks are "in many ways violative of a law that you cannot be producing comments that could promote enmity between communities".

"That is certainly not the kind of language that diverse, pluralistic secular society like ours has to swallow and coming from a minister that is very serious," he said.