"Don't See The Humour": BJP Leaders Slam Shashi Tharoor's UP Wordplay

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's jab at the BJP over paper leaks in competitive exams at the state and all-India level has drawn a sharp response, with BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh accusing him of running down and stereotyping the northern state.

Late last night, Mr Tharoor shared an image on X that had a question and an answer. The question in Hindi was, "What is called Uttar Pradesh?" The answer was: "a state where uttar (meaning answers) are known before the exam." Mr Tharoor described the post as "shandaar" and added the hashtag "Pariksha pe charcha" -- a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to interact with students.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP's post was clearly aimed at mocking the Centre over multiple cases of paper leaks in state-level and all-India examinations. The country is currently witnessing massive protests surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical courses. Alleged irregularities in the exam, taken by 24 lakh students, have prompted the government to order a CBI investigation. Amid the row, the government has postponed three other all-India exams, triggering a sharp response from Opposition parties.  

At the state level too, question papers of several recruitment exams in Uttar Pradesh have leaked this year and the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has drawn strong criticism. In fact, paper leaks were a key talking point during the general election in which the BJP took a big hit in Uttar Pradesh, its score down from 62 in the 2019 polls to 33 this time. 

Mr Tharoor's post, however, has drawn a counterstrike in Uttar Pradesh, with BJP leaders accusing him of insulting the state.

Union minister Jitin Prasada, a prominent UP leader who was earlier with the Congress, has posted in response to Mr Tharoor, "I don't see the humour in running down my state and its people by stereotyping them with such condemnable remarks. Such an insult to UP is deplorable and must be condemned in strongest words."

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar has hit out too, saying that the post demonstrates "shameless crass politics of shaming fellow Indians". "Shameless crass politics of shaming other fellow Indians - that's the Congress way, ably demonstrated by this self-titled Global citizen. It was just a few months ago, another of Cong 'global citizens' Pitroda described Indians as Africans, Chinese, Middle eastern etc. Runs deep in the Cong DNA, this type of superiority complex," posted Mr Chandrashekar, who lost to Mr Tharoor in this election.

BJP's national spokesperson CR Kesavan called Mr Tharoor "a repeat offender who had earlier gravely insulted our North East brothers and sisters by ridiculing their traditional attire as outlandish". "To belittle a serious issue, implying that the state of UP is a state of cheaters is indefensible and unpardonable. Splattering fancy English words does not necessarily make one civil and dignified." 

Another BJP leader to hit out at the Congress MP was Rajasthan minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. "Shashi, you having to resort to frivolity!! And in doing so condemning people of an entire state? You don't see UP as yours, since you are deriding it," he posted.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded in what can be called a 'Tharooresque' fashion. Mr Tharoor's wide-ranging vocabulary and choice of words has often made headlines. In his swipe at the Congress leader, Mr Sarma appeared to be playing at that.

"This gentleman frequently indulges in satirizing various cultures (first Northeast and now UP) with remarkably caustic words. He has succumbed to the beguiling whispers of lunacy, his mind adrift in the ethereal mists of derangement," the Assam Chief Minister posted.