Shashi Tharoor says he will not accept award named after VD Savarkar

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said he will not accept an award named after Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, which is being conferred by a non-governmental organisation, the Highrange Rural Development Society.

The award was to be presented at a ceremony in Delhi on Wednesday, according to social media posts by the organisation. The event was to be inaugurated by Union minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was the chief guest.

Tharoor was to be among six award winners.

The Congress MP said he had come to know through reports that he had been named a recipient of the award. “I only learned about this announcement yesterday in Kerala, where I had gone to vote in the local self-government elections,” he said on social media.