When A ‘Typographical’ Error In Court Papers Called Into Question Tharoor’s ‘Why I Am Hindu’ Argument

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, who is also the author of "Why I Am A Hindu", on Monday denied allegations that he ever disputed being a Hindu in legal documents.

The controversy erupted when BJP's Subramanian Swamy and Swarajya columnist Anand Ranganathan posted on Twitter the screenshots from a May 27, 2015 Kerala High Court judgement on "S. Suresh Vs Dr. Shashi Tharoor".

Commenting on a petition that challenged the validity of first respondent's (Tharoor in this case) election nomination on basis of "non-disclosure" of his material assets, the judgement, in the body, says "He (Tharoor) disputes that he and his wife late Sunanda Pushkar are Hindus."

Swamy wrote: "Does Tharoor claim he is not a Hindu in the Election Petition?".

Ranganathan posted the screenshot along with the cover of Tharoor's latest book. His post read: "This made my day. Man who told the court he is NOT a Hindu now writes a book titled Why I AM a Hindu."

Responding to the post, Tharoor tweeted asking to withdraw the "fake document" and threatened to proceed with legal action. "This is a complete lie. I have never said any such thing to any court. I demand you withdraw this fake document or I will proceed with legal action," he wrote.

Calling out the "lie", he also posted pictures of his "sworn affidavits" that said both Tharoor and his late wife were Hindus. "Regarding the false claim that said my wife&I were not Hindus: This is my sworn affidavit before the Court. Clearly there was a typographical error ("accidental slip") in the judge's summary of the case which no one noticed until malicious people chose to twist it into a drama."

The affidavit dated March 2015 said "My wife, late Sunanda Pushkar was a Hindu by religion."

The reply lead to an exchange of heated arguments between the two.