NEW DELHI: A Delhi BJP leader on Saturday filed a criminal defamation 'complaint' against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for his alleged "scorpion" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his complaint, BJP leader Rajeev Babbar said that Tharoor with "mala fide intention made the statement which is not only abuse of the Hindu deity but also defamatory."
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had kicked up a storm on Sunday after quoting an RSS source who is believed to have described PM Modi as ‘a scorpion sitting on a Shivling’. This analogy immediately drew a sharp reaction from the BJP.
Tharoor made this remark while discussing the alleged strife between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS. “There is an extraordinarily striking metaphor expressed by an unnamed RSS source with journalist Vinod Jose of (The) Caravan, which I quote here, in which they express their frustration with their inability to curb Mr Modi. Mr Modi, he says, is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling. You can’t remove him with your hand and you cannot hit it with a chappal either,” he had said.
Babbar said being a vice president of the Delhi state BJP, he was "identified as a worker/ supporter of Narendra Modi and BJP" and that Tharoor's statement hurt his religious statement.
The complaint, filed through advocate Neeraj, termed the statement as "intolerable abuse" and "absolute vilification" of the faith of the people.
"The speech of the accused had lowered down the credit and image of the complainant.
The complainant was hurt and anguished as the intentional, defamatory and mischievous statement of the accused has lowered the reputation of the complainant in the eyes of others present there," the complaint said.
The accused had deliberately made the statement intending to harm, knowing and having reason to believe that such false statement will harm the reputation of the workers/supporters of Narendra Modi and BJP," the complaint said.
Babbar said that Tharoor "deliberately did this malicious act, intending to outrage religious feeling of Lord Shiva devotees by insulting their religious believes".
The complaint has been filed under sections 499 and 500 of IPC relating to defamation. If convicted, Tharoor may face a maximum punishment of two years in jail.