New Delhi: Hours after Shashi Tharoor retweeted an "anti-India tweet" over the controversial hijab row, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait slammed the Congress MP and asserted that such anti-India elements should not be encouraged.
Tharoor retweeted a tweet which claimed that a group of "powerful" Kuwaiti parliamentarians has demanded from the government of Kuwait to put an immediate ban on the entry of any member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India into Kuwait.
"Sad to see an Hon’ble Member of Indian Parliament retweeting an anti-India tweet by a Pakistani agent who was recipient of a Pakistani Award ‘Ambassador of Peace’ for his anti-India activities. We should not encourage such anti-India elements," Indian Embassy in Kuwait wrote on Twitter.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also retweeted the Indian Embassy tweet.
Responding to the tweet, Tharoor said that he doesn't endorse the individual but is concerned about the sentiment he conveys.
"I don't endorse this individual, whom i'd never heard of, but am concerned about the sentiment he conveys, which is sadly shared by many who are friends of India. While accepting @indembkwt's view, I urge GoI not2give ammo to such anti-India elements by condoning misconduct here," he replied.
"Domestic actions have international repercussions. I hear from friends across the Gulf of their dismay at rising Islamophobia in India & the PM's unwillingness to condemn it, let alone act decisively against it. 'We like India. But don't make it so hard for us to be your friends'," Tharoor had said while retweeting @MJALSHRIKA's tweet.
Some posts from unverified Twitter handles also claimed that protests were held outside Indian Embassy in Kuwait.
The development comes a day after Ministry of External Affairs reiterated its stand on criticism by some countries over the simmering dress code row in Karnataka, saying comments by outsiders on internal issues will not be acceptable.