PM deserves respect when he represents India abroad: Shashi Tharoor
Pune: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is a strong critic of the Modi-led government, on Sunday said the prime minister deserves respect when he visits foreign countries as India's representative, but when he is in the country, people have the right to question him.
On the row over a common language for India, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said he was in favour of a three-language formula (promoting multilingual communicative abilities).
He was speaking at a session organised by the All India Professional Congress in Pune district of Maharashtra.
"The prime minister deserves respect in foreign countries as (there) he is a representative of our nation. But when he is in India, we have the right to ask him questions," Tharoor said.
On the issue of one common language in the country, he said the BJP's ideology of promoting Hindi, Hinduism and Hindustan is "dangerous" for our country.
"We need to carry on the three-language formula," he said.
Amid a heated debate over his remark that Hindi should be a common language, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said he has never asked for imposition of Hindi over native languages in the country but advocated its use as the second language,
He criticised the ruling BJP over incidents of mob lynching, saying they are an "insult to Hinduism and Lord Ram". "There is no difference among people (of different communities) living in Kerala. Then why it is happening in Maharashtra," he said.
Even Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj had people from different communities under his rule. But he instructed everyone to respect each other, he said.
The BJP's idea of Hinduism is a "political ideology" and does not have any connection with Hinduism, the Congress leader said.
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Two held in UP's Bijnor for contact with Pakistan linked Dubai handler
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Bijnor (PTI): Two men were arrested in this Uttar Pradesh district on Friday for allegedly being in touch with a Pakistan-linked handler based in Dubai, police said.
Circle Officer, Najibabad, Anjani Kumar Chaturvedi said Uvaid Malik and Jalal Haider were arrested following inputs on their alleged links with Aqib, a resident of Meerut currently staying in Dubai.
According to police, Aqib had earlier come into the spotlight after a video surfaced on Instagram purportedly showing him displaying an AK-47 rifle and explosives.
During interrogation, the arrested men allegedly told police that Aqib used to incite youngsters against Hindus and encourage anti-national activities, the officer said, adding that detailed questioning of the accused is underway.
On April 6, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Jha said the video first surfaced in November last year. Aqib, a native of Sathla village in the Mawana area of Meerut, was allegedly seen in the video brandishing weapons.
Following the viral clip, a case was registered at the Nangal police station by sub-inspector Vinod Kumar. However, the then station house officer and investigating officer Satyendra Singh had recorded Aqib's statement and filed a final report, stating that the weapons seen in the video were toys, effectively giving him a clean chit.
Police said fresh developments have now revealed Aqib's suspicious links and the probe has been handed over to the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).
The SP said action has been taken against the officials concerned, with the then SHO and investigating officer suspended and Circle Officer Nitesh Pratap Singh removed from his post.
