Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor has slammed the media for twisting his comments on the Ram temple issue.
Tharoor reportedly remarked : “As a Hindu obviously I’m very conscious that a vast majority of my fellow Hindus believe that was the specific birthplace of Ram. And for that 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 to see that temple built by demolishing somebody else’s place of worship.”
Congress party later said that Tharoor had clarified that the remarks were his personal opinion and not that of the party.
Tharoor later in series of hard hitting tweets slammed the media coverage of his remarks
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.”
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 15, 2018
Don’t understand why our “national” media so willingly oblige the BJP whenever they need a dishonest distraction from their own problems. Whipping up hysteria over a fake story discredits both the ruling party & the journalists who play into their hands. https://t.co/8s33tfSWz3
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 15, 2018
I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival & gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party & did not claim to be speaking for @incindia. https://t.co/aKeJvdLoqG
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 15, 2018