Overview
- On Nov. 8, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wished L. K. Advani a happy 98th birthday on X, calling him a “true statesman” with an exemplary life of service.
- Tharoor defended his stance, arguing it is unfair to reduce Advani’s decades-long career to one incident and drawing a comparison to how Nehru and Indira Gandhi are judged.
- Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde rebuked Tharoor, citing the 1990 Ram Rath Yatra and saying “unleashing the dragon seeds of hatred” cannot be called public service.
- Congress later issued a public dissociation, with spokesperson Pawan Khera stating that “Dr Shashi Tharoor speaks for himself” and that the party does not endorse his remarks.
- BJP figures amplified the episode, with spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari mocking Congress’s stance and Shehzad Poonawalla on Nov. 10 accusing the party of intolerance over Tharoor’s courtesy.