Politics

Saurav Das Urges Tharoor to Revisit 2018 Scorpion Comment

By HT News Desk

Saurav Das, the co‑convener of the Cockroach Janta Party, posted on X asking Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to revisit his 2018 remark about a scorpion on a Shivling. Das wrote, “Dr. Tharoor, I speak, of course, of that immortal zoological‑theological conundrum involving a scorpion and the impracticability of a chappal. In the context of the video, surely it warrants a reprise?” The request followed Das’s earlier attempt to get Tharoor to comment on a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering prayers to Lord Shiva. Tharoor replied, “It wouldn’t, @SauravDassss, if I had the slightest idea what you are referring to! Do enlighten me.”

The 2018 comment was made by Tharoor at the Bangalore Literature Festival on 28 October 2018, where he compared Modi to a scorpion. In 2019, BJP leader Rajiv Babbar filed a defamation case against Tharoor, alleging that the remark vilified the Prime Minister and the faith of millions of Lord Shiva devotees. Tharoor said the remark was taken from a 2012 Caravan magazine article when Modi was Gujarat chief minister. He argued that Babbar was not an “aggrieved person” under the law and that his comment was made in good faith.

After the Delhi High Court dismissed Tharoor’s plea challenging the defamation proceedings, he moved the Supreme Court. In 2023 the Supreme Court closed the criminal defamation case, advising the complainant not to be “touchy” about such comments. Tharoor maintained that his statement was a reference to the earlier article, not a new attack on the Prime Minister or the religion.

The incident highlights the ongoing legal and political disputes surrounding Tharoor’s 2018 remark and the broader debate over freedom of expression and religious sentiment in India.