BJP demands Rahul Gandhi to expel Shashi Tharoor from Congress for his controversial remark on PM Modi

A day after senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor quoted an unnamed RSS source who called PM Modi a scorpion sitting on Shiv Ling which is difficult to set aside, the BJP has hit back and demanded Rahul Gandhi to expel Tharoor from the party. Demanding Tharoor’s ouster, BJP national spokesperson Dr. Sambit Patra said 'if Rahul Gandhi is a Shiv bhakt, he must act against Shashi Tharoor.'

“If Rahul Gandhi is actually a Shiv bhakt, then he should apologise and should expel Shashi Tharoor from the party. Tell me, will Shashi Tharoor ever comment on any other gods or religion like this?” said Dr Sambit Patra.

READ | "Like A Scorpion On A Shivling": Shashi Tharoor Directs Controversial 'chappal-scorpion-Shivling' Analogy At PM Modi

Speaking in an event in Bengaluru, while promoting his new book, Tharoor triggered a massive war of words, drawing a controversial analogy PM Modi and 'a scorpion sitting on a Shivling'

"This personality cult (speaking about Narendra Modi) hasn't sat well with many in the RSS establishment. There's an extraordinarily striking metaphor expressed by an unnamed RSS source to the journalist Vinod Jose of The Caravan which I quote here, in which they express their frustration with their inability to curb Mr Modi. And the man says, ‘Mr Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling. You cannot remove with your hand and you can't hit him with a chappal either. And if you think about it, that's a very very profound understanding of the relationship, because if you remove a scorpion with a hand you'll get stung very badly but if you hit a Shivling with a chappal then you've undermined all the sacred tenets of the faith that the scorpion is sitting on. So, ultimately you live with it with seething frustration. That may well be a very interesting clue to the rather complex dynamic that exists between the Hindutva movement and the Moditva expression of it’," said Tharoor.

READ | Shashi Tharoor Courts 'Good Hindu-Bad Hindu' Controversy With Ram Mandir Remark; Triggers Outrage

Earlier on Sunday, the BJP spokesperson slamming Tharoor said that he first denigrated the Hindu religion and then the Prime Minister of India.

"I just heard the comment, it's so abusive. He's denigrated the Hindu religion by bringing Chappal and Shivling together, and then he denigrates the Prime Minister of India. Is this what the Congress party has sunk to? Everyday Shashi Tharoor comes up with an abuse for the Prime Minister and the Hindu religion," said Dr Patra.

"He knows that he can say anything about the Hindus and against the BJP and Narendra Modi because he knows we're the most tolerant ones. He's trying to buy an extra mile out of our tolerance" he added.