Must learn to be less thin-skinned Tharoor on India lodging protest over Singapore PMs remarks
New Delhi Feb 18 PTI Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said it was most unseemly for the Ministry of External Affairs to summon the envoy of a friendly country like Singapore over remarks by their prime minister to their own Parliament and asserted that we must learn to be less thin-skinnedTharoors remarks came after India on Thursday lodged a strong protest with Singapore over the comments made by its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that almost half of the lawmakers in the Lok Sabha have criminal charges pending against them and suggesting a decline in the countrys democratic polity from Nehrus IndiaMost unseemly for MEA to summon the HC of a friendly country like Singapore over some remarks by their PM to their own Parliament Tharoor said in a tweetHe Lee was making a general largely accurate point Given the stuff our own pols utter we must learn to be less thin-skinned the former minister of state for external affairs saidWe should have handled the matter with a statement saying we heard with interest the PMs remarks But we dont comment on other countries internal matters nor on debates in foreign Parliaments urge everyone to follow the same principle Far more effective less offensive Tharoor said in another tweetSingapores high commissioner to India Simon Wong was called to the Ministry of External Affairs and he was conveyed that the comments were uncalled for and that India objected to them strongly according to sourcesIn his nearly 40-minute speech the Singaporean prime minister had talked about how a democratic system needs lawmakers with integrity and invoked Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to stress how democracy should work in the city-state PTI ASK DV DV
New Delhi Feb 18 PTI Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said it was most unseemly for the Ministry of External Affairs to summon the envoy of a friendly country like Singapore over remarks by their prime minister to their own Parliament and asserted that we must learn to be less thin-skinnedTharoors remarks came after India on Thursday lodged a strong protest with Singapore over the comments made by its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that almost half of the lawmakers in the Lok Sabha have criminal charges pending against them and suggesting a decline in the countrys democratic polity from Nehrus IndiaMost unseemly for MEA to summon the HC of a friendly country like Singapore over some remarks by their PM to their own Parliament Tharoor said in a tweetHe Lee was making a general largely accurate point Given the stuff our own pols utter we must learn to be less thin-skinned the former minister of state for external affairs saidWe should have handled the matter with a statement saying we heard with interest the PMs remarks But we dont comment on other countries internal matters nor on debates in foreign Parliaments urge everyone to follow the same principle Far more effective less offensive Tharoor said in another tweetSingapores high commissioner to India Simon Wong was called to the Ministry of External Affairs and he was conveyed that the comments were uncalled for and that India objected to them strongly according to sourcesIn his nearly 40-minute speech the Singaporean prime minister had talked about how a democratic system needs lawmakers with integrity and invoked Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to stress how democracy should work in the city-state PTI ASK DV DV
