Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has sparked a recent political debate by defending the legacy of former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, arguing that the veteran BJP chief’s many years of public service shouldn’t be judged solely by one controversial episode in his profession.

“Decreasing his lengthy years of service to 1 episode, nonetheless vital, is unfair. Simply as Nehruji’s profession can’t be outlined solely by the China setback, nor Indira Gandhi’s solely by the Emergency, the identical equity ought to be proven to Advaniji,” Tharoor wrote on X (previously Twitter).

His feedback got here shortly after he prolonged birthday needs to Advani, one of many founding figures of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion, on his 98th birthday. In his message, Tharoor praised Advani’s “unwavering dedication to public service” and described him as a “true statesman.”

“Wishing the venerable Shri L.Okay. Advani a really completely happy 98th birthday! His unwavering dedication to public service, his modesty and decency, and his function in shaping the trajectory of contemporary India are indelible. A real statesman whose lifetime of service has been exemplary,” Tharoor wrote.

Nevertheless, the Congress MP’s remarks drew sturdy criticism on-line, with a number of customers accusing him of “whitewashing” Advani’s function in shaping divisive politics.

Among the many critics was Supreme Court docket advocate Sanjay Hegde, who responded sharply, saying, “Unleashing the ‘dragon seeds of hatred’ on this nation is NOT public service.”

A quick alternate adopted between Hegde and Tharoor. Whereas Tharoor maintained that Advani’s legacy ought to be seen in totality, Hegde countered that Advani’s Rath Yatra marked a turning level in India’s political panorama.

“The Rath Yatra was not an episode. It was an extended march to reverse the foundational rules of the Indian Republic. It set the stage for 2002 and 2014 and thereafter. Like Draupadi’s dishonour set the stage for the Mahabharata that adopted, the Rathyatra and its legacy of violence proceed to hang-out the future of this nation. From his present mattress of arrows, he has not preached any Rajdharma both,” Hegde wrote.

Advani’s Rath Yatra, launched from Somnath and halted in Bihar by then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, is broadly considered a precursor to the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992, an occasion that basically reshaped Indian politics.

Tharoor’s remarks have reignited dialogue round Advani’s legacy, as soon as once more inserting the Congress MP on the centre of a heated ideological debate.