"Good" Hindus won't want Ram temple by demolishing somebody's else's place of worship: Tharoor
Chennai/New Delhi, Oct 15: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has kicked up a row with remarks that no "good" Hindu would favour a Ram temple in Ayodhya by demolishing somebody else's place of worship, drawing stinging criticism from the BJP which dubbed his party and its chief Rahul Gandhi "anti- Hindu".
Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, made the comments at an event in Chennai on Sunday.
"As a Hindu, obviously, I am conscious that a vast majority of my fellow Hindus believe that that was the specific birthplace of Ram.
"For this reason, most good Hindus would want to see a Ram temple at the site where Ram was supposed to be born. But I also believe that no good Hindu would have wanted that a temple be built by demolishing somebody else's place of worship," he said.
The BJP hit back at Tharoor over his remarks, with the party's national spokesman Sambit Patra saying they "exposed" the real face of Rahul Gandhi.
"Rahul Gandhi's real face stands exposed," Patra told a tv news channel, criticising Tharoor's comments. He made a reference to the Congress president's frequent visits to temples in election-bound states.
He said while Gandhi "does fancy dress shows" by visiting Hindu temples, a leader of his party makes such comments.
"These remarks completely expose the Congress....Rahul Gandhi. They are anti-Hindu," he said.
Tharoor insisted his comments were personal and not those of his party. His remarks, Tharoor insisted, were distorted out of malice.
"I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival & gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party & did not claim to be speaking for @incindia," he tweeted.
"I condemn the malicious distortion of my words by some media in the service of political masters. I said: most Hindus would want a temple at what they believe to be Ram's birthplace. But no good Hindu would want it to be built by destroying another's place of worship."
Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said Tharoor was trying to "arrogate" to himself spiritual powers and that he has his "lost balance".
"He is no authority on Hindu. He has led a life which has nothing to do with Hinduism. He is abrogating to himself spiritual powers or powers of religious authority. He has lost his balance," Swamy said.
Tharoor had sparked off a controversy in July with comments that if the BJP was voted to power again, it will rewrite the Constitution that will eventually create a "Hindu Pakistan".
At an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor said, "If they are able to win a repeat of their current strength in the Lok Sabha then, frankly, our own democratic Constitution, as we understand [it], will not survive... because then they will have all the three elements they need to tear up the Constitution of India and write a new one."
"And that will enshrine the principle of Hindu Rashtra, that will remove equality for the minorities, and that will create a Hindu Pakistan...and that is not what Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and great heroes of freedom struggle fought for," he noted.
The Congress had distanced itself from Tharoor's comments.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
