Overview
- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wished L.K. Advani a happy 98th birthday and hailed his public service, modesty, and role in shaping modern India.
- After criticism, Tharoor argued that Advani’s decades in public life should not be reduced to a single episode, invoking comparisons to how Nehru and Indira Gandhi are assessed.
- Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde rebuked the praise, quoting Khushwant Singh’s line about “dragon seeds of hatred” and rejecting the idea that the Rath Yatra can be minimized.
- Hegde said the Rath Yatra marked a turning point that set the stage for later political developments, while coverage notes it is widely viewed as a prelude to the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.
- Reports add context that Tharoor has recently taken positions at odds with the Congress, drawing past approval from BJP figures for his critique of dynastic politics.