Asserting that incidents and comments against Muslims were bound to attract negative reactions abroad, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said it is more important to change the domestic reality than do damage control, while referring to India’s criticism in the Arab states over alleged “Islamophobia”.
What matters is not what the government says but how it isperceived because of what it does, or let others do, Tharoor said, and allegedthat the Modi government has “shamefully failed” to curb theappalling behaviour of many of its “most rabid supporters”, includingsome in high positions.
“Let us not forget that ‘Ramzade/Hara…..’ commentcame from a minister, and the latest remark from a BJP MLA in UP telling peoplenot to buy vegetables from a Muslim vendor,” Tharoor said.
His remarks were an apparent reference to 2014 commentsreportedly made by Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, and the recentcontroversy triggered by Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Suresh Tewari who allegedlyasked people not to buy vegetables from Muslim vendors. The BJP on Tuesdayissued a show cause notice to Tewari for his remarks.
In an interview to PTI, Tharoor alleged that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has, throughout the last six years, been too slow to”condemn his party’s bigotry and has condoned overt expressions ofIslamophobia from his own camp”.
“The attitude that India loves Muslims so long as theyare outside India, but insults them at home, is not tenable in a world ofinstant global communications. The mounting number of incidents and statementsagainst Muslims in India was bound to attract negative attention abroad,”the former Union minister said.
His remarks came in the backdrop of angry reactions from UAEroyal princess, Kuwait government and other leading citizens from various Arabcountries after some people blamed Muslims for spreading COVID-19 in severalparts of India following a spurt in coronavirus cases linked to Tablighi Jamaatmeet at Nizamuddin here.
Also, the 57-member prominent international Muslim grouping,Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), recently accused India of”Islamophobia”.
Responding to the criticism in Gulf nations and by the OIC,Tharoor said the backlash is not surprising.
“While I welcome the PM’s and the Foreign Minister’sattempts at damage control, it is far more important to change the domesticreality than to issue reassuring statements,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuramsaid.Asked about plea by several Indians stuck in theGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and his request to the prime ministerand the external affairs minister to expedite their evacuation, Tharoor saidevery nation has a responsibility towards its citizens.