‘People scared to say things on phone’: Shashi Tharoor's dig at ruling BJP

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre, saying that the country’s democracy is “at threat” under its regime. In an apparent reference to the phone-tapping cases, Tharoor alleged people are “scared to say anything on phone because they do not know who in the government is listening”.

“When you vote on May 7, one of the great questions you have to ask yourself is…What kind of India do you want to live in? What kind of India do you want your children to grow up in? Do you want an India that is fearful? People are afraid to express their views openly because of the consequences?” he questioned during a corner meeting in South Goa’s Verna, reported The Indian Express.

The Congress MP further asked people of the country if they wanted an India where they are free to express their views, free to eat what they want, to dress as they wish, to love whom they like, or are they prepared to accept a government that “feels it has a place in your bedroom, in your kitchen, in your safe, in your dining room”.

Tharoor, who was recently locked in a three-way contest with BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI’s P Raveendran in Thiruvananthapuram, was campaigning for Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate from South Goa, Captain Viriato Fernandes.

Also read: BJP losing majority a ‘foregone conclusion’, even 200 seats a ‘challenge’: Shashi Tharoor

On BJP’s ‘ab ki baar 400 paar’ slogan, the Congress leader said, “When they talk about this, we just ask why”.

“The only argument for having such a large majority is to be able to amend the Constitution…We are hearing a party devoted not to the idea of everyone’s equality, but to the slogan of ‘Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan’ – a monolithic idea of India. They want one nation, one election, one party, one leader, one religion, one God. They want everything to be one, and of course, for there to be one ruler to control all of this,” he said, reported The Indian Express.

South Goa will go to polls in the third phase of voting for the Lok Sabha election on May 7. The results will be announced on June 4.

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