‘PM will be presented as Hindu Hriday Samrat in 2024’: Shashi Tharoor’s dig at BJP

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over.

The latter being invited to inaugurate a Hindu temple in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, in February next year. The Prime Minister is also set to inaugurate the Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on January 22.

Taking to his official X handle, Tharoor quoted a report by India Today, confirming PM Narendra Modi’s acceptance of the invitation to inaugurate the temple in Abu Dhabi, and said that in 2024, the BJP will revert to its “core message and offer Narendra Modi to the nation as a Hindu Hriday Samrat.”

“So Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22nd and the BAPS Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi on February 14th. I expect elections to be called very soon thereafter,” Tharoor said.

“The message is clear. In 2009, Mr Modi was sold to the Indian electorate as the avatar of economic development, the CEO of Gujarat Inc., who would bring development to all Indians. In 2019, with that narrative collapsing in the wake of the disastrous demonetisation, the Pulwama terrorist attack gave Mr Modi the opportunity to convert the general election into a national security election,” he said.

“In 2024, it is clear the BJP will now revert to its core message and offer Narendra Modi to the nation as a Hindu Hriday Samrat,” Tharoor added.

“All of this begs the question: what happened to achhe din? What happened to 2 crore jobs a year? What happened to economic growth that would benefit the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder? What happened to putting disposable income into the pockets and bank accounts of every Indian? These questions will have to be debated in an election that is shaping up to be Hindutva versus popular welfare,” he said.

The India Today report stated representatives of the BAPS organisation, led by Swami Ishwarcharandas and Swami Brahmaviharidas, met the Prime Minister at his residence in New Delhi and extended the invitation for the inauguration on February 14.

Later, PM Narendra Modi accepted the invitation, it said.

Ahead of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, PM Modi will also inaugurate a slew of development projects in the city on December 30, including an airport and a redeveloped railway station, and flag off two new Amrit Bharat and six new Vande Bharat trains.

Official sources said the airport will be named “Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham”, after the saint who wrote the epic “Ramayana”. Valmiki also enjoys a large following, especially among Dalits.