Wrestlers’ issue will cause great deal of damage to BJP: Shashi Tharoor

The Congress leader also hit out at the government for not inviting President Droupadi Murmu to the inauguration of the new Parliament building

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the BJP is going to do itself a “great deal of damage” as it has taken a stand which is “morally unacceptable” to the nation. File | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has hit out at the government on the wrestlers' issue, saying the BJP is going to do itself a "great deal of damage" as it has taken a stand which is "morally unacceptable" to the nation.

Talking to PTI on the sidelines of the recently-concluded JLF Valladolid in Spain, the Thiruvananthapuram MP also said the attitude of the Narendra Modi-led government in the matter is "totally unacceptable".

"I think they are going to do themselves a great deal of damage in the eyes of the large numbers of the public because of their failure to actually understand that the Indian public no longer has patience for this kind of Mafiosi behaviour," Mr. Tharoor said.

"... Merely because there are certain political calculations on the BJP having certain aversions to 'looking weak', they have taken a stand which is morally unacceptable to the nation," he added.

Top wrestlers of the country, including Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat and Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, have been protesting against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh and demanding his arrest for allegedly sexually harassing female grapplers.

The protesting wrestlers on June 7 had agreed to suspend their protest for a week after the government asked them to wait till police completes its probe into the allegations against Mr. Singh.

Delhi Police on April 28 had registered two FIRs against Mr. Singh. Some of the complainants have also alleged that Mr. Singh made advances to seek "sexual favours", promising to help them in their careers.

Mr. Tharoor said it is "totally unacceptable the attitude of the government, the silence of the government at a time when the whole nation's conscience is deeply inflamed by what the wrestlers have alleged. At the very least there should be a very serious investigation".

In the interview, Mr. Tharoor also touched upon the recently passed Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, to create an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi, which the AAP Government had called a deception with the Supreme Court verdict on control of services.

Terming the ordinance an "undemocratic act", he said it was a way of "taking advantage of the parliamentary recess to ride roughshod" over the Supreme Court ruling.

"It is quite deplorable that they have done that. My personal view is that it is an issue that needs to be resolved, constitutionally. But it is also true that the BJP can have its way because under the law of the land they have the parliamentary majority, they can pass a law to overturn this and to establish what they want to see happening. At the moment, they have done it through an ordinance, which is not a good way to do it," he said.

The Congress leader suggested that only a limited area around the Parliament, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister and Vice President's enclave should be under the Centre's control as the current situation is "quite anomalist".

"Whereas for the rest of Delhi, it should be like any other normal state where the elected government of the day should be able to function freely. The present situation is quite anomalist, on the one hand, people vote for a government to deliver services, on the other hand, it is constantly interfered with and overruled by the centre and I think that’s not a very healthy practice," he said.

The Congress leader also hit out at the government for not inviting President Droupadi Murmu to the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

Mr. Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on May 28. The event was attended by 25 parties while 20 Opposition parties boycotted it, accusing the Prime Minister of "sidelining" Ms. Murmu.

"It is truly astonishing because Article 79 of the Constitution is unambiguously clear that there shall be a Parliament which is headed by the President, consisting of the Members of the Parliament. There is no mention of the Prime Minister. So to give the Prime Minister this kind of prominence... is truly surprising and I think the BJP has no real explanation for this," Mr. Tharoor said.

Ahead of the inauguration, the Congress had accused the government of disrespecting constitutional propriety. In response, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri put out a series of tweets questioning the Congress.

Mr. Puri had said Congress leaders should feel better if they remember October 24, 1975 — the day when Indira Gandhi inaugurated the parliament annexe! Or August 15, 1987, when Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation of the parliament library.

Mr. Tharoor argued that the BJP has only this explanation to the nation that other politicians have inaugurated legislative Assemblies, the parliament libraries then why not this.

"... But this is a major thing, a whole new Parliament. It's the first time in the last 100 years and it will be there for the next 100 years. How can the constitutional head of state be left out of it, there is no real explanation," he said.