Following the outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by the BJP’s now-sacked two functionaries, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is high time Prime Minister Narendra Modi should step in and break his silence on the “proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents” in the country.
Tharoor further asserted that his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.
In an interview, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken “impressive steps” to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, but that is being “seriously undermined”.
Weighing in on the ongoing debate on the need for blasphemy laws in the country, the Lok Sabha MP said that he is not a fan of such laws because the history of such laws elsewhere is littered with their misuse and abuse.
“The existence of a blasphemy law tends to encourage both excessive frivolous litigation and mob misconduct by those who take the law into their own hands. I think our current hate speech laws and Section 295A are quite adequate to deal with such misbehaviour,” Tharoor said.
The issue is of the willingness of the police and local authorities to enforce the law, without fear or favour, against whoever violates it, he said.
“Exemplary action against any and all offenders will have a salutary effect in reducing such cases in future,” Tharoor said.
A number of Muslim-majority nations have condemned and expressed their outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad amid calls that Prime Minister Modi should have intervened in the matter when the comments were made.
“I am sure he (Modi) understands that this kind of divisive rhetoric is undermining his own vision for India’s development and prosperity,” he said. “The media in these countries is replete with stories about the increasing ‘demonisation’ of Muslims in our country,” the former minister of state for external affairs said.
The BJP had last Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
Two people died from gunshot wounds in Jharkhand capital Ranchi and fresh demonstrations were held in West Bengal’s Howrah on Saturday as tension prevailed in several parts of the country, a day after the violent protests against the controversial remarks.
