Bengaluru, October 28: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Shashi Tharoor claimed an unnamed RSS source made the parallel between PM Modi and scorpion sitting on a Shivling. RSS is the ideological backbone of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“There’s an extraordinarily striking metaphor expressed by an unnamed RSS source to a journalist, that, ‘Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling, you can’t remove him with your hand and you cannot hit it with a chappal either’,” Tharoor said on Saturday while speaking at Bengaluru Literature Festival on his recently launched book The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India. Shashi Tharoor on Ram Mandir in Ayodhya: No Good Hindu Wants Temple by Razing Masjid.

Earlier speaking at the launch of his book in Delhi, Tharoor said that Modi became Prime Minister on the back of a "full-fledged" marketing campaign but that he won't stay popular for long. "You can be an outstanding salesperson, but people who are buying your package keep realising that the package is empty. How long will they keep buying the same package?" he asked. Floccinaucinihilipilification Is the New F-Word From Shashi Tharoor’s Dictionary! Know the Meaning & How to Pronounce It.

The Congress leader further said while his book was not neutral in its criticism of Modi as he was, after all, a member of the Congress party, but that it was measured in its criticism and substantiated with facts and figures. Speaking at the same event, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh said the "idea of India" was being threatened under Modi government.

Often criticised by his successor for being a non-vocal prime minister during his term, Singh attacked Modi for remaining silent in the face of widespread communal violence, mob lynchings, and cow vigilantism. He also accused him of failing the electorate and eroding voters' faith in his words and "lofty" promises while "vitiating" the environment of Indian universities and national institutions like the CBI.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2018 03:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).