What Shashi Tharoor said about accepting Veer Savarkar Award?
Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor made it clear on Wednesday that he will not accept the Veer Savarkar Award or attend any related events.
Tharoor stated that he first heard about the award on Tuesday, but was neither informed of its nature nor provided any official information about the event. Tharoor alleged that the organizing body, HRDS, released his name without his permission, which he described as an "irresponsible move."
He stated that consent is required before announcing a nominee for an award, but in this case, his approval was not even obtained. Many leaders within the Congress party also desired that Tharoor not accept any honor named after Savarkar.
Some party leaders argued that Savarkar made compromises during British rule and that such awards are inconsistent with Congress ideology. Tharoor also clarified that his abstention from the event was not a matter of controversy but a principled decision. “I can’t participate in any award, organization, or cause unless I have complete information about it,” he said.
Prakash Kumar Pandey