New Delhi, Mar 29: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor committed a major gaffe on social media while wishing the nation on Mahavir Jayanti. The lawmaker used the image of Buddha, instead of Mahavira in his post on Twitter. The users on micro-blogging site were quick to lambaste Tharoor for the faux pas.
Twitterati went hysterical, questioning Tharoor's intellect and knowledge of the Indian culture and religions. The fierceness of Twitter's response to his error ranged from tongue-in-cheek jibes to barbs against his affiliation to the Congress.
Here's the tweet in which Tharoor made the error:
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2018
Reactions to Tharoor:
Happy Diwali 😇 pic.twitter.com/hIV3p7DCI4
— Gujarati Jon Snow (@Gujju_Jon) March 29, 2018
Happy Onam pic.twitter.com/2E7tLZwGMF
— Akshay (@AkshayKatariyaa) March 29, 2018
Happy Navratri pic.twitter.com/FcgbcVDa4L
— RITIK (@RitikRai619) March 29, 2018
Happy Ram Navmi. pic.twitter.com/nJGpIajunq
— Royal Fussy (@Fussy_Ca) March 29, 2018
Happy birthday to Charlie Chaplin pic.twitter.com/nuVtOTBrS5
— Squint Neon (@squintneon) March 29, 2018
Even the Congress president was not spared.
— Raju Srivastava (@Gajodhar_007) March 29, 2018
And Kejriwal also targeted.
— Raju Srivastava (@Gajodhar_007) March 29, 2018
Here are the hard-hitting barbs.
He can't differentiate between Mahavir and Buddha but is an expert on Indian religions. OK. https://t.co/CUpwczA6IS
— Divya Kumar Soti (@DivyaSoti) March 29, 2018
It’s Mahavir’s Jayanti not Gautam Buddha Jayanti. This is what happens when you become Hindu due to party pressure. pic.twitter.com/M8dJIktbNW
— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) March 29, 2018
Tharoor's bid to control flak:
Here's the source for my picture: https://t.co/OrNVaFsJqd
Authentic, accepted alternatives most welcome. At least, thanks to my apparent error, a lot more people are tweeting on Mahavira than they would otherwise have! https://t.co/vYHNgeeY22
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2018
Tharoor, one of the most eloquent Indian lawmakers, often gets targeted on social media. The last time he received massive flak on Twitter was due to his controversial tweet on Indian Model Manushi Chillar being crowned as the Miss World 2017. "What a mistake to demonetise our currency! BJP should have realised that Indian cash dominates the globe: look, even our Chhillar has become Miss World! (sic), he had tweeted.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2018 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).