No one would want to invest where government is promoting social division over religion: Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took on Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev today in a tweet reacting to the spiritual leader's comments on the nationwide protests against the citizenship law CAA.
Sadhguru, whose video in support of the CAA or Citizenship (Amendment) Act was tweeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, said at Davos on Wednesday that no one would want to invest in a place where "buses are burning" on the streets.
"Yes Sadhguru. And no one would want to invest in a place where the government is promoting social division on the basis of religion. Nor in one where the UP police have indiscriminately assaulted, imprisoned and even killed people, not buses," Shashi Tharoor posted, reacting to the spiritual leader's interview to NDTV.
Sadhguru, speaking to NDTV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, had said the protests were not really worrying but when buses were burnt, the image stayed. "We must be concerned about sending across the right message to the world because no one would want to invest in a place where buses are burning on the streets," Sadhguru told NDTV.
"It is our business as a nation to see that we don't project images of civil unrest... because without a tremendous amount of foreign investment, we will not be able to achieve what we want to achieve in the country when 400 million people are still undernourished."
Sadhguru's backing has been important to the government at a time it is attempting to show popular support for the religion-based citizenship law, which provides for Indian citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they fled religious persecution and entered India before 2015. Critics accuse the government of attempting to drive out Muslims by using the CAA, along with the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
In December, PM Modi had tweeted Sadhguru's video with the comment: "Do hear this lucid explanation of aspects relating to CAA and more by Sadhguru. He provides historical context, brilliantly highlights our culture of brotherhood. He also calls out the misinformation by vested interest groups."