MP: PM must speak out on Islamophobia

New Delhi: Amid outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by the BJP’s nowsacked two functionaries, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is high time Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the “proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents” in the country, asserting that his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.

In an interview, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken “impressive steps” to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, but that risks being “seriously undermined”. The former Union minister also weighed in on the on-going debate on the need for blasphemy laws in the country, and said he is not a fan of such laws because the history of such laws elsewhere is littered with their misuse and abuse.

“The existence of a blasphemy law tends to encourage both excessive frivolous litigation and mob misconduct by those who take the law into their own hands. I think our current hate speech laws and Section 295A are quite adequate to deal with such misbehaviour,” Tharoor said. The issue is of the willingness of the police and local authorities to enforce the law, without fear or favour, against whoever violates it, he said.

Asked about the outrage and condemnation from a number of Muslimmajority nations over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad and calls that Prime Minister Modi should have intervened in the matter when the comments were made, Tharoor said, “I believe it is high time the PM broke his silence on the proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents in our country, because his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.”