Defamation Case Against Shashi Tharoor for 'Scorpion on Shivling' Remark: Delhi's Patiala House Court Adjourns Hearing Till November 16

New Delhi, November 3: Delhi's Patiala House Court adjourned the hearing of a criminal defamation complaint filed against Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor to November 16. Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Babbar filed the case against Tharoor for his alleged "scorpion" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Babbar said that the Congress MP’s remark hurt his religious sentiments.

The Delhi BJP leader said, I am a devotee of Lord Shiva... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva's devotees, made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all the Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country.”

Advocate Neeraj who is representing Babbar termed the statement as an "intolerable abuse" and "absolute vilification" of the faith of millions of people. The complaint was filed under section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code relating to defamation. The matter is likely to come up for hearing Saturday. The senior Congress leader had sparked controversy on October 28 at an event during the launch of his book, Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India.

Tharoor said, “There’s an extraordinarily striking metaphor expressed by an unnamed Rashtriya Sawayamsewak Sangh (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 also stated that Modi became Prime Minister on the back of a "full-fledged" marketing campaign but that he won't stay popular for long.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2018 04:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).