Shashi Tharoor sends legal notice to RS Prasad over Shiv Linga remark

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New Delhi: The war of words between Shashi Tharoor and BJP leaders has escalated in recent days and on Wednesday, the Congress leader sent a notice to RS Prasad seeking an apology for him.

Tharoor was blasted by RS Prasad for reportedly claiming that an unnamed RSS source had told a journalist about how PM Narendra Modi was like a scorpion sitting on Shiv Linga who cannot be removed by hand or hit by slippers. Prasad, in a tweet of his, had referred to Tharoor as an accused in a murder case who had attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva. He had then sought an apology from Rahul Gandhi in the matter.

Shashi Tharoor who is accused in a murder case has attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva.

I seek a reply from Rahul Gandhi who claims himself to be a Bhakt of Lord Shiva on this horrific denunciation of Hindu gods by a Congress MP.

Rahul Gandhi must apologize to all Hindus. pic.twitter.com/QeShJoCHDZ — Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 28, 2018

While an apology is unlikely to come, Tharoor has fired a legal notice to the union minister in which he has warned of legal action unless he apologises within 48 hours. In the notice, Tharoor has also accused Prasad of making false and defamatory statements against him.

The remark in question itself was reportedly made by Tharoor on October 27 while speaking at the Bengaluru Literature Festival on his recently launched book "The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India". His defence? "This comment (not by me) has been in the public domain for six years. R.S. Prasad making an issue of a six-year-old quote shows how little new the BJP has to offer the nation," he had tweeted.

The war of words between Tharoor and BJP leaders has been as regular as it has been severe. Most recently, Tharoor even questioned PM Narendra Modi for inaugurating a statue of Sardar Patel when there is no statue of a similar or larger size of Mahatma Gandhi. "The biggest one (statue of Mahatma Gandhi) is in Parliament. But this is a 182-metre statue for his disciple. Why is there such a big statue for a disciple of Gandhiji in the country where there is no statue of that size for the Mahatma?" he said at an event in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

(With PTI inputs)