Shashi Tharoor slams PM Modi, BJP over snatching of mangalsutra claim: 'They will fling any mud they can'

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase Two: Shashi Tharoor, eminent writer and sitting MP, who is seeking a fourth term in the Lower House from Thiruvananthapuram in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was making a desperate attempt to divert voter attention by claiming that the Congress would snatch the gold and mangalsutra of women. Prime Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi last week alleged that the Congress wanted to take away the gold and property of people and distribute it among "those having more children".

The Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency goes to polls on April 26.

Shashi Tharoor on Mangalsutra jibe by PM Modi

"Nowhere does it (manifesto) talk about wealth redistribution. Nowhere does it talk about taking anybody's gold and snatching the mangalsutra of women. This is such preposterous attacks that we are seeing from the BJP. It is a measure of their desperation. They know that they are losing this election and they will fling any mud that they can," Shashi Tharoor told ANI.

PM Modi, referring to reports about the Congress' intention to redistribute wealth if elected to power, had said the party would conduct a survey and would not even let Mangalsutra remain with women and "will go to this extent."

Shashi Tharoor on three-cornered contest

On being asked about rival BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s campaign in Kerala. Shashi Tharoor told the Hindustan Times, “I have maintained that it [Lok Sabha Elections 2024] is a three-cornered contest.”

“I've always respected my opponents and their ability to put up a strong campaign, be it the CPI candidate (I took the seat from his party in my first campaign) or the BJP candidate (the BJP came second in both 2014 and 2019), but I also remain completely confident in my ability to once again succeed.”

Shashi Tharoor on Hindu constituency Thiruvananthapuram

When asked if the BJP pitching the Hindu agenda in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency affects the electoral prospect of Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP said politics of communal hatred has no appeal in the entire South, not just Thiruvananthapuram. 

“People elect a government to look after their welfare, not just their religion, and when they vote in their self-interest they will vote the BJP out of office. The BJP wants anything but that and hence wants to make the predictable communal appeal," the Congress MP said.

Shashi Tharoor on anti-incumbency

Shashi Tharoor, when asked about the anti-incumbency voting trend in Kerala, highlighted his position as an incumbent MP for 15 years. “Anti-incumbency settles in when there is a lack of performance as MP, have seen anything but that,” he pointed out.

“Those who have seen me in action for 15 years have had multiple reasons to appreciate my services to the constituency, besides the stands that I have taken on national issues in Parliament.”

The BJP, which has never won a Lok Sabha seat from Kerala, has fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Shashi Tharoor. While both leaders have Malayali heritage, both were born elsewhere - Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Gujarat and Tharoor in the UK. As the Congress looks to retain the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, the BJP seeks to defeat the Congress leader, give a fight to the ruling Left Democratic Front's Pannyan Raveendran, and win Kerala's capital city seat.