The BJP leader claimed that Tharoor’s participation in the rally, given his previous role as a diplomat at the UN, went against the country’s established stance on the issue.
The Kerala BJP on Friday slammed Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor for his participation in the Indian Union Muslim League’s rally in support of Palestine, calling him a “pro-Hamas” event.
A day after tens of thousands of IUML supporters took to the streets of Kozhikode, expressing solidarity with the war-ravaged Palestinian people, BJP state president K Surendran expressed concern as to the conflict being used to fuel communal tensions in the state.
The IUML rally in Kozhikode was ‘pro-Hamas’ and anti-national slogans were raised throughout the programme, he claimed at a press conference in Kozhikode.
The BJP leader claimed that Tharoor’s participation in the rally, given his previous role as a diplomat at the UN, went against the country’s established stance on the issue.
Surendran claimed that Tharoor’s participation in the rally was a move to garner votes from community groups, calling it an act of treason to support Hamas, which he said supports anti-Indian forces.
He also accused Tharoor of trying to exploit communal polarization ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“It is now clear that what they want are votes, not peace,” Surendran said.
The BJP leader also accused senior IUML leader and MLA Munner of equating “Hamas terrorists” with freedom fighters like Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh.
Earlier in the day, a leader of the ruling CPI(M) criticized Tharoor for his speech at the IUML rally, alleging that some of his remarks were biased in favor of Israel and that he did not recognized as a “terrorist” nation.
CPI(M) leader M. Swaraj leveled the allegation against the Congress leader, referring to his remarks in his speech in which he condemned, in unequivocal terms, the attack carried out by the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Israel on October 7, calling it an attack. “act of terror”.
Tharoor responded to backlash from pro-Hamas groups and some left-wing activists on social media, emphasizing his long-standing support for the Palestinian people and clarifying that a sentence in his speech was taken out of context.
The IUML, a key ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, took out a massive rally in Kozhikode on Thursday to condemn the indiscriminate killings reported during the Israeli attack on Gaza.
Tharoor, as the chief guest, condemned the ongoing war, calling it “one of the most distressing human rights catastrophes” witnessed in the last 19 days.
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