Shashi Tharoor Tweets Mahavir Jayanti Wishes With Buddha Pic, Trolled

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was left embarrassed after Twitterati pointed out he had mistakenly posted a picture of Buddha while wishing his followers on Mahavir Jayanti. Mr Tharoor was trolled for the error, which he first briefly defended and later conceded. Instead of deleting the tweet, however, the politician said he was choosing to leave it up on Twitter, explaining that "honesty is always the best policy." Mahavir Jayanti is the most important festival for the Jain community. This year, it falls on March 29 (today). It marks the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, the last Tirthankara or saviour and spiritual teacher, in Jainism.

Mr Tharoor tweeted the Mahavir Jayanti wishes early this morning:
 

pic.twitter.com/DP6hT70AJh

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2018

Twitterati were quick to point out Mr Tharoor's faux pas:
 

Thank You. But Shashi you have put Bhagwan Gautam Buddh 's pic ISO of Bhagwan Mahavir 's. Thanks.

— Jiggs (@Sootradhar) March 29, 2018

 

Thank you so much sir and same to you,  but that photo is not of #LordMahavir  it's of Gautam Buddha. As you know, Jainism and Buddhism are two different religions. :)

— Shubham Jain (@Imshubham_jain) March 29, 2018

 

The picture is of #GautamBuddha it's not supposed to be Mahavira@ShashiTharoor however you were supposed to be scholar, how come this huge sin

Anyways

To err is human, and you are one!@ippatel @SaurabhJNU @apathak50 @JNU_IN @INCIndia @RSSorg @AshishSainram @gjha88

— Anima Sonkar (@AnimaSonkar) March 29, 2018

 

The author of several books on India, Indian history, and one titled Why I Am A Hindu has put a Gautam Buddha pic to wish Bhagwan Mahavir Jayanti pic.twitter.com/lOKtxxW2Ee

— Aashish Chandorkar (@c_aashish) March 29, 2018

 

Sir, google hi kar lete.

— Incognito_River (@Incognito_River) March 29, 2018

And troll him as well:
 

Happy Diwali pic.twitter.com/hIV3p7DCI4

— Gujarati Jon Snow (@Gujju_Jon) March 29, 2018

 

Eid mubarak pic.twitter.com/tNCmasUJuj

— Troll hub (@tejasarcasm) March 29, 2018

 

Happy Holi!! pic.twitter.com/gu1TF4u2Sn

— Rosy (@rose_k01) March 29, 2018

 

Happy navroz, bhaijaan..!! pic.twitter.com/LBOaokQyiD

— BK ACHAN (@darthACHAN) March 29, 2018

At first, Mr Tharoor appeared to defend his tweet, pointing to the source of his image:
 

Here's the source for my picture: https://t.co/OrNVaFsJqd
Authentic, accepted alternatives most welcome. At least, thanks to my apparent error, a lot more people are tweeting on Mahavira than they would otherwise have! https://t.co/vYHNgeeY22

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2018

Then after realising his mistake, the Congress MP tweeted: "Ttypos yesterday, Mahavira today.... Will take a break" (sic).

Soon, Mr Tharoor began tagging and calling out other media houses for using the wrong images, welcoming them to "the club of mistaken Mahavira pictures"
 

Seems @ZeeNews has deleted their erroneous image. But i believe in owning up to my mistakes & not concealing the evidence of my errors. So my mistake (&the chortling that followed) is there for all to see. Honesty (as @stevesmith49 &co have found out) is always the best policy. https://t.co/8h1pfNYN8V

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2018

Replying to his critics, Mr Tharoor, a social media favourite, finally wrote: "I believe in owning up to my mistakes & not concealing the evidence of my errors... Honesty (as @stevesmith49 & co have found out) is always the best policy."

As it turns out, Mr Tharoor wasn't the only one to make this mistake.

Dimple Yadav, Samajwadi Party's MP from Kannauj and wife of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, also tweeted a picture of Buddha instead of Lord Mahavir to her followers.
 

pic.twitter.com/ah7J98naMh

— Dimple Yadav (@dimpleyadav) March 29, 2018

And a BJP spokesperson alleged that the Congress in Karnataka had erroneously used an image of Buddha on a hoarding wishing people on Mahavir Jayanti.
 

So, Govt of Karnataka is wishing Shri Mahaver Jayanti using Buddha's photo.

Wake up Niddaramaiah .

No wonder PiDis run @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/rdav2QNdRp

— Suresh Nakhua (@sureshnakhua) March 29, 2018