New Delhi: Commenting upon the Indian-origin Hindu Rishi Sunak’s becoming the Prime Minister of Britain, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today said it has lessons for India.
Refining his argument about need to empower “visible minorities”, Congress leader asked, “Can someone who is not Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain become PM of India?”
Mr Tharoor pointed out that Rishi Sunak has been an overt practitioner of Hinduism, he asked, “Can you imagine an overt Christian or an overt Muslim, public about their faith, being embraced by the BJP as a fit Prime Minister for India?”
He further noted that country’s ruling BJP does not have any Muslim MP.
Recalling “public fulminations” about Sonia Gandhi’s Italian and Christian original after she led a Congress alliance to victory and was tipped to be PM Mr Tharoor lamented that “One prominent politician threatened to shave her head if she became PM.” He was referring to BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, who went on to become India’s foreign minister.
NDTV quoted Tharoor as saying, “I believe we need to acknowledge — and I’ve been a critic of British racism — that they’ve chosen to anoint as their leader a brown-skinned Hindu after a history of overt racism… They’ve outgrown their worst attributes.”
