New Delhi, India

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor invited sharp criticism over his social media post where he took a jibe at the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) amid the NEET paper leak controversy.

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Tharoor on Saturday night (June 22) shared a viral post depicting a Q&A referring to UP.

The question read, "Uttar Pradesh kise kehte hain? (Define Uttar Pradesh)."

"A state where uttar (referring to answers) are known before the exam," read the answer.

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The Congress leader captioned the post as, "shandaar" (Fabulous) and added the hashtag "Pariksha pe charcha" (Discussion on examination), taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to interact with students during exams.

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Also read: CBI files FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in NEET-UG exam

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Tharoor's post draws flak from BJP

Soon after Tharoor made the comment, the BJP leaders slammed Tharoor for stereotyping the state and insulting the people of UP.

Union minister Jitin Prasada, responding to the post said, "I don't see the humour in running down my state and its people by stereotyping them with such condemnable remarks. Such an insult to UP is deplorable and must be condemned in strongest words."

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Former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who lost the Thiruvananthapuram constituency to Tharoor in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls 2024, said, "Shameless crass politics of shaming other fellow Indians - that's the Congress way, ably demonstrated by this self-titled Global citizen. It was just a few months ago, another of Cong 'global citizens' Pitroda described Indians as Africans, Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc., Runs deep in the Cong DNA, this type of superiority complex."

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Calling Tharoor a "repeat offender", BJP's national spokesperson CR Kesavan said, "Earlier, Shashi Tharoor gravely insulted our North East brothers and sisters by ridiculing their traditional attire as outlandish. To belittle a serious issue, implying that the state of UP is a state of cheaters is indefensible and unpardonable. Splattering fancy English words does not necessarily make one civil and dignified."

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Rajasthan Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, "Shashi, you having to resort to frivolity!! And in doing so condemning people of an entire state? You don't see UP as yours, since you are deriding it. How I see Kerala is it's my state, it's my people. Bright, young, dynamic Keralites have served with me in the Army and rubbed shoulders with me in Team India."

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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded to his post by saying, "This gentleman frequently indulges in satirising various cultures (first Northeast and now UP) with remarkably caustic words. He has succumbed to the beguiling whispers of lunacy, his mind adrift in the ethereal mists of derangement."

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(With inputs from agencies)