A Kolkata court has summoned Congress leader and former Union minister Shashi Tharoor for his remark that the BJP will pave the way for creation of a “Hindu Pakistan” if voted to power again, lawyer-petitioner Sumeet Chowdhury said here on Saturday.
Mr. Chowdhury moved a petition before a Metropolitan Magistrate Court, alleging that Mr. Tharoor’s comment created disharmony and was “a deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings.”
Mr. Tharoor was sued under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (1) M. Dasgupta directed issuance of the summons to the Congress leader through post and on his Twitter handle. The court directed him to appear before it on August 14.In the petition, Mr. Chowdhury said Mr. Tharoor had refused to apologise.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Tharoor said at a meeting that if the BJP returned to power, it would rewrite the Constitution and turn India into a “Hindu Pakistan”.