The word ‘intellectual politician’ seems to be an oxymoron, as far as the Indian political scenario is concerned. We have politicians saying such outlandish things that even we, the ordinary citizens roll our eyes. But, there are still a few politicians who fit the bill, one of them being Dr. Shashi Tharoor. But even he sometimes, perhaps due to party pressure or on his own makes such comments that force us to respond.
On Wednesday, while addressing a function at the district Congress committee office in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor commented why the government has erected such a grand statue of the ‘Disciple of Gandhi’ and not of Gandhi himself.
Dear Dr. Tharoor, I don’t think this country can somehow pay tributes to Gandhi any more than they have already. While I don’t reject his contribution to the freedom struggle, it certainly looks like he was the only one. We have a national holiday for his birthday and a martyr’s day where one-minute silence is observed too. I don’t see such proceedings happening for any other freedom fighter. 44.35 acres of land in the heart of the capital city is dedicated to his Samadhi (Raj Ghat), a new statue of him was also built on the occasion of his 148th anniversary there.
We have him on every currency note, and more than 50 roads are named after him. Do we really need to respect him any more? His name brings votes to your party, even when no Gandhi from your party is his blood relative. So, I can understand why you need to bring his name in every discussion.
Next argument from him is that “there is no need to erect such an imposing statue of Patel, a man of simplicity and a true Gandhian, who moved along with poor peasants.” Dear Dr. Tharoor, then who deserves a statue if not the simplest of man?
It’s not your fault Dr. Tharoor. I know you have the pressure to regain your status in Congress after you were recently removed as party spokesperson for praising Mr. Modi. But, making such comments on the go won’t win you any support.