Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that India had a become a nation where politics was polarised due to the decisions taken by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Tharoor claimed people had been “divided into black and white” and that there was no shade in between the two “which is called tolerance”, PTI reported.

“There is my Hindu way,” Tharoor said during a session at the Pune International Literary Festival. “There is his or her Hindu way and everyone has their own Hindu way. That’s the magic because Hinduism does not prescribe any rigorous prescriptions.”

The politician said that he can either worship the deity Ram and read the Hanuman Chalisa or not do either of the two, but he would still be a Hindu. However, Tharoor claimed that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar had not understood that.

The Congress leader said people should respect each other’s truths as it was the “fundamental spirit of Hinduism” and that acceptance went beyond tolerance. The Congress MP said Hinduism was not just the strength of Indian society, civilisation and culture, but also the country’s democracy.

“It is not only limited to respecting each other’s religious ways or practices, but it is about respecting political views,” Tharoor said.

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