Shashi Tharoor Targets Centre Over "Mother Of Democracy" Slogan On G20 Hoardings

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday took swipes at the Union government over a slogan on G20 publicity hoardings which describes India as the "mother of democracy".

Speaking at a seminar in Indore organised by the Madhya Pradesh unit of the All India Professional Congress (AIPC), he also accused the BJP government of treating Parliament as a "rubber stamp or notice board." The seminar was on "Samvidhan ka Sanrakshan aur Samvidhan ka utthan" (Conserving the Constitution and Uplifting the Constitution). The Thiruvananthapuram MP is the chairman of the Congress-affiliated AIPC.

"If you go to Delhi, you will see G20 billboards all over the city with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's smiling face and a slogan that we are the mother of democracy. Maybe there is a reason behind his smile... Because the way this mother is working, it is against democracy," Mr Tharoor said.

Targeting the Modi government further, he added, "I think no mother in the world would want to ask for credit after treating her children so badly." The government was using Parliament as a "rubber stamp or notice board" and getting bills passed without discussion with the opposition, he alleged.

Referring to the recent deadlock during the Budget session of Parliament, Mr Tharoor said for the first time in the country's history the ruling party did not allow Parliament to function as the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over a statement.

"The BJP wants to run Parliament through disruptions," Mr Tharoor remarked.

After Independence, leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Hindu Mahasabha had said that India's Constitution was based on "English thinking" and the country should be a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation), he claimed.

The BJP government was trying to run the country on the basis of religion, he said.

"Every day people are saying in speeches that India should become a Hindu Rashtra and if you are not a Hindu, then your rights should be restricted. But the Congress wants that all the basic principles of the Constitution be followed in the country," the MP said.

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