Congress MP Shashi Tharoor takes a dig at ruling BJB and says “we want an India with both Krishna and Kanhaiya Kumar”.
He further said that India is not just the land of Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan. We want a nation in which people from every corner of this vast land have an equal stake in our future.
“Today nationalism is decided by whether or not one can say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. He added that I am happy to say it, but should I also force everyone to say it?
Taking a dig at BJP over its stand on the JNU row, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said nationalism is now decided by whether one can say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ or not.
According to him, people should have the right to choose what they believe is true and still be tolerant of others’ ideas in a democracy.
“Our Constitution gives people the right not to say it just as it gives people the right to say it as well. I will choose when to say it and that’s democracy,” Tharoor said addressing students at JNU tonight.
He said that celebrates the range of opinions and is today continued by constitutional democracy which stands for certain values that all of us claim as our own, if this is the country’s legacy we can live, then we can all stand under that flag and celebrate.
He was speaking on ‘JNU and Nationalism’ outside the administrative hall of the varsity which is the centre of protests after 9th February controversial event led by Kanhaiya Kumar where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.
He also said; ‘You may have come here for education but you are also educating the nation. What is happening here has given the whole nation an education on the vital issues of dissent and democracy, sedition and of course of ‘azaadi’ (freedom)’.
Tharoor applauds the students for stirring a debate on vital issues in India, saying student days are the days “to expand one’s consciousness”.
Tharoor’s nearly 40-minute long speech was marked with historical anecdotes and personal experiences and he repeatedly quoted personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru and Everlyn Beatrice Hall to drive home the idea of tolerance and diversity and their importance in India.
