Tharoor's remarks at Lahore event spark BJP-Congress spat

Shashi Tharoor's remarks at a Lahore event held last month have sparked a political storm back home. The BJP held a press conference accusing the Congress of "demeaning and discrediting" India on a Pakistani forum. In response, Congress too held an interaction with the press to counter claims made by the ruling party.

While virtually responding to a journalist's question at the Lahore Think Fest, Shashi Tharoor had said, "So we in the opposition do point out, for example, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had mentioned as early as February that COVID had to be taken more seriously than the government was taking it and preventive measures needed to be put in place immediately otherwise we would face both a health disaster and an economic catastrophe if this was allowed to run unchecked."

"Both seem to be doing rather well in the public eye, which, to some of us in the opposition in India, is still a bit of a mystery, but we don't discuss that outside India. We fight our battles at home," Shashi Tharoor had added, according to news agency PTI.