Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday took a jibe at the Narendra Modi government, saying that policies like Make in India and spreading hatred in the country cannot go together. Delivering a keynote address at the Harvard University's annual India convention, Tharoor said that the “outrageous statements” made by the ruling party members against minorities only undermine the country’s soft power, reported PTI.

“If on one hand, we go around saying Make in India, Startup India and Digital India and want to attract foreign investors, we can’t do so if we are condoning hatred in India at the same time,” Tharoor said. “It is not so good when women are assaulted on the streets of Delhi. It is not good when some people begin to fear that it is safer to be a cow than to be a Muslim in India today,” he added.

The Congress MP said it was important to maintain the pluralistic character of the country to attract foreign direct investment. Before India tries to leverage its soft power to increase its standing in the world, there is a need to fix its domestic problems first, Tharoor added.