Congress' Shashi Tharoor apologises; 'sorry' for fake news amid PM Modi's Bangladesh visit

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday apologised for his comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the Bangladesh war. Taking to Twitter to Tharoor admitted that his remark on PM’s speech in Dhaka was based on some “hasty reading of newspaper headlines” and thus erroneous.

The Congress leader on Friday had tweeted indicating that PM Modi did not acknowledge former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s contribution to liberating Bangladesh in 1971. Apologising for his erroneous remark, Tharoor said, “Yesterday, on the basis of a quick reading of headlines, I tweeted – ‘everyone knows who liberated Bangladesh’ - implying that PM Modi had omitted to acknowledge Indira Gandhi. It turns out he did. Sorry!” He shared a snip of a web-story where the Prime Minister is doing exactly that.

Tharoor mocks PM's speech on 1971 war

In Friday’s tweet, the Congress leader had also criticised the PM, saying that he was “giving Bangladesh a taste of Indian fake news.” PM Modi, during his speech on Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary, had said, “I was 20-22 years old when I, along with my friends, did Satyagraha for the freedom of Bangladesh and was even jailed for the same.”

Bangladesh won its independence in 1971 following a brief war between India and Pakistan. After being defeated in a joint battle of the Indian Army and Bangla’s Mukti Bahini, Pakistan unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka, which led to the birth of Bangladesh. The country is now celebrating the Golden Jubilee of its founding day with Prime Minister Modi himself attending the proceedings as the chief guest.

In Dhaka, PM Modi said both India and Bangladesh have the power of democracy and vision for the future, and it is necessary for the region the two countries to progress together. “That is why Indian and Bangladeshi governments are making meaningful efforts in this direction.”

During his speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation day of Bangladesh, PM also asserted that the country’s freedom struggle was “supported from every nook and corner of India, from every party and every section of the society”. “Indira Gandhi ji‘s efforts and her contribution to the freedom struggle is well known,” he added; something that was missed by Tharoor.