Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said whenever people criticise the Narendra Modi government, they are accused of being anti-national and claimed there is an effort to “delegitimise dissent”.
The Congress leader drew a parallel between the regimes led by India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the present dispensation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said Nehru, whose death anniversary is being observed today, was somebody who said democracy has to be instilled and encouraged in the people of India.
Referring to Modi, Tharoor said a ‘chaiwala’ could become the country’s prime minister because of the democratic institutions and values laid down by Nehru more than 70 years ago.
“In a democracy, we have the right to challenge and criticise the government. But every time you criticise the government you are accused of being an anti-national,” Tharoor, who was accompanied by former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, said.