The quality of political discourse is declining, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday, adding that standards should not be lowered to the level of those who use obscene language.
Tharoor was responding to a question about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent remarks about the people of Gujarat which drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
At an election rally in Kerala’s Idukki district on Sunday, Karji said the people of the state are “educated and intelligent” and cannot be misled, unlike those who are “illiterate” in Gujarat and some other places.
“Do they agree with this statement? If Rahul Gandhi has any meaning, he should distance himself from this statement, condemn it and demand an apology,” Prasad said.
Tharoor’s advice
In what appeared to be an advice to his party colleague, Tharoor said on Tuesday while talking to reporters: “The quality of political discourse is declining and our standards should not be lowered to the level of those who use bad language.”
The BJP on Tuesday demanded an apology from the outcast for his alleged remarks, saying the comment was “rude, insulting and absolutely despicable”.
In a press conference, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge’s statement.
Prasad said Karji “does not deserve to remain Congress president” for making such comments, and wondered whether he had “abandoned every sense of dignity” associated with the office.
“The position he holds was previously held by leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, Sonia Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and even Rahul Gandhi. What kind of language does a person holding such a position use? Kharaj’s comment is not only insulting, but absolutely rude and contemptible,” news agency PTI reported. As Prasad says.
He added that Gujarat has produced many national leaders and intellectuals.
“What does it mean when the leader of a national party describes the entire people of the state as illiterate? I want to raise a serious question on the party’s national programme,” Prasad said.
He demanded that the Congress president apologize to the people of Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
“Karg, you owe the country an apology. On behalf of the BJP, we demand that you apologize for calling the people of Gujarat illiterate,” he said, adding that such statements were “divisive” and unbecoming of a national party leader.
