The Indian Embassy in Kuwait on Friday strongly condemned a tweet by Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor wherein the parliamentarian had quoted a tweet by a Kuwaiti lawyer, Mejbel Al Sharika. The tweet claimed that a call for the ban on entry of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders into Kuwait was endorsed by a group of “powerful Kuwaiti parliamentarians” over the hijab controversy that originated in Karnataka. Sharing the tweet, Tharoor wrote, “Domestic actions have international repercussions. I hear from friends across the Gulf of their dismay at rising Islamophobia in India &the PM’s unwillingness to condemn it, let alone act decisively against it. ‘We like India.But don’t make it so hard for us to be your friends’.”
Domestic actions have international repercussions. I hear from friends across the Gulf of their dismay at rising Islamophobia in India &the PM’s unwillingness to condemn it, let alone act decisively against it. “We like India.But don’t make it so hard for us to be your friends”. https://t.co/Bj9es8fbfS
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 18, 2022
The Indian Embassy then issued a statement slamming Tharoor for retweeting a tweet by a ‘Pakistani agent’ and revealed that Mejbel Al Sharika has been conferred the ‘Ambassador of Peace’ award by Pakistan’. The tweet by the Indian mission said, “Sad to see an Hon’ble Member of Indian Parliament retweeting an anti-India tweet by a Pakistani agent who was recipient of a Pakistani Award ‘Ambassador of Peace’ for his anti-India activities. We should not encourage such anti-India elements.”
Sad to see an Hon’ble Member of Indian Parliament retweeting an anti-India tweet by a Pakistani agent who was recipient of a Pakistani Award ‘Ambassador of Peace’ for his anti-India activities. We should not encourage such anti-India elements. https://t.co/e43MAmc50j pic.twitter.com/v3hoL582tL
— India in Kuwait (@indembkwt) February 18, 2022
Issuing a clarification later, Tharoor said that he did not endorse the view of the individual in question but was concerned as the ‘sentiment’ he conveyed is shared by many ‘friends of India.’
I don’t endorse this individual, whom i’d never heard of, but am concerned about the sentiment he conveys, which is sadly shared by many who are friends of India. While accepting @indembkwt‘s view, I urge GoI not2give ammo to such anti-India elements by condoning misconduct here. https://t.co/5McqqMwqtQ
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 18, 2022
Earlier, MEA had asked other countries to refrain from commenting on the issue of dress code in educational institutions in Karnataka, stating that “motivated comments on our internal issues aren’t welcome.”
