The Indian embassy in Kuwait on Friday slammed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for retweeting what it said was an "anti-India tweet" by a "Pakistani agent", and asserted that such anti-India elements should not be encouraged.
The sharp response from the Indian embassy in Kuwait came after Tharoor retweeted a tweet which claimed that a group of "powerful" Kuwaiti parliamentarians have demanded from the government of Kuwait to put an immediate ban on the entry of any member of the ruling BJP of India into Kuwait.
The tweet further said, "We can't sit back and watch Muslim girls being publicly persecuted they said. Time for the Ummah to unite."
Referring to the tweet, Tharoor said on Twitter, "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'."
Hitting out at Tharoor, the Indian embassy in Kuwait, from its official Twitter handle, said, "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."
Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also retweeted the Indian Embassy tweet.
Responding to the Indian embassy's tweet, Tharoor said he doesn't endorse the individual, whom he had never heard of, but is 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 tweeted.
Some posts from unverified Twitter handles also claimed that protests were held outside the Indian embassy in Kuwait.
The ministry of external affairs on Thursday 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.
