"It's a shame that an Indian leader needs to be told this by a foreign one, when our history is one of co-existence, our Constitution reflects pluralism &our culture accepts difference. A great pity that some Indians don't share the values on which India is built (sic)."
Former US President Barack Obama's confession that he had personally told Prime Minister Modi that the country should not be divided on religious lines has left Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioning why an 'Indian leader need(ed) to be told this by a foreign one.'
"It's a shame that an Indian leader needs to be told this by a foreign one, when our history is one of co-existence, our Constitution reflects pluralism &our culture accepts difference. A great pity that some Indians don't share the values on which India is built (sic)," he tweeted.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit Friday, Obama had said he had told PM Modi 'in person' that the country should not be divided into sectarian lines, while emphasising the need for India to nurture and cherish its Muslim population.
“A country shouldn’t be divided into sectarian lines and that is something I have told Prime Minister Modi in person as well as to people in America,” he said.
He, however, also said that he believes the Prime Minister 'believes in the unity of India.'
On his 2015 visit to India, Obama had reflected on growing intolerance in the country against minorities and urged people to not let the country 'full of magnificent diversity' divide on sectarian levels.
He had then called India "a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs."
These, Obama said, were "acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped liberate that nation."