‘Scorpion’ barb: Court summons Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: A local court on  Saturday summoned Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on June 7 on a complaint over his remarks that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling”.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal was hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed against Tharoor by Delhi BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who has said his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader’s statement.

Mr Tharoor had claimed in October last year that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Prime Minister Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivlinga”. He had termed it as an extraordinarily striking metaphor. The complaint says, “I am a devotee of Lord Shiva.... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva devotees, (and) made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country.”

“The complainant’s religious sentiments were hurt and the accused deliberately did this malicious act, intending to outrage the religious feelings of Lord Shiva devotees by insulting their religious belief,” it adds. The complaint also describes Mr Tharoor’s statement as an “intolerable abuse” and “absolute vilification” of the faith of millions of people.

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