BJP workers vandalise Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's office over his 'Hindu Pakistan' remark

About 15 workers barged into the office located near the Government Press in the heart of the city on Monday noon and poured black oil in front of the office.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. (File photo | PTI)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's office came under the attack of BJP workers who sprinkled black oil and placed a wreath in protest against the diplomat-turned-politician's comment that BJP getting mandate in 2019 would lead to the creation of 'Hindu Pakistan'.

About 15 workers barged into the office located near the Government Press in the heart of the city on Monday noon and poured black oil in front of the office. They then placed a wreath in front of the office gate and installed a 'Pakistan Office' board.

They demanded an apology from Tharoor over his comment that has since spiralled into a big political controversy. The attackers also demanded Tharoor to leave the country.

People had come with their concerns but you scared them away from here. Is this what we want in our country? I am asking as a citizen, not as an MP. This is not the Hinduism that I know of: Shashi Tharoor on his office attacked allegedly by BJP workers in Kerala's Trivandrum pic.twitter.com/KCn06svTZg
— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2018

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "People had come with their concerns but you scared them away from here. Is this what we want in our country? I am asking as a citizen, not as an MP. This is not the Hinduism that I know of."

"The BJP's answer to the simple question 'have you given up the dream of a Hindu rashtra?' is apparently vandalism and violence."

He added that after today's alleged act of violence by the BJP, even Hindus will distance themselves from the "Sanghi goondas".

Tharoor recently made the remark during a function in the city. He had alleged that if the BJP comes to power for the straight second time after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the party would try to rewrite the constitution. He also had said that if such a thing happens, then the country will become a 'Hindu Pakistan', where akin to what is happening in Pakistan, the minorities will be stripped of their rights.

The comment soon snowballed into controversy as the BJP came down heavily on the grand old party and the leader, whom they accused of 'insulting the entire country'. However, the state leadership of the party stood behind him, saying Tharoor echoed what has been in the mind of the secular citizens.