Tharoor counters Modi, says dynasty politics integral to India's fabric, prevalent in BJP too

Under attack from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding dynasty politics in Congress and the INDIA bloc led by it, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor staunchly defended the practice

Under attack from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding dynasty politics in Congress and the INDIA bloc led by it, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor staunchly defended the practice, asserting it is ingrained within India's cultural fabric and claiming its prevalence not only within the grand old party but also within the ruling BJP.

In an interview with PTI, Mr. Tharoor stood by dynasty politics in parties in the country, saying it's part of India's culture and suggested it's a common practice, not something unusual.

"It's a relatively common thing that in India, much more than in the West, a father expects his son to follow his profession, and so it tends to go. So it's not at all surprising that there is a certain level of 'parivar vaad' in all parties," Mr. Tharoor said.

Ridiculing the anti-dynasty campaign of Mr. Modi during his Lok Sabha election rallies, Mr. Tharoor claimed that except for the top few leaders, all the ministers and MPs in the BJP are sons or daughters of other senior BJP officials.

"I honestly don't see any particular consistency in Mr Modi attacking 'parivar vaad' in other parties but encouraging parivar in his own party. His party is full of MPs, ministers, and others who are all sons or daughters of other senior BJP officials," the Congress Working Committee (CWC) member alleged.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP defended the fact that most of the leaders of the INDIA bloc are part of the dynasty.

"This is a cultural habit in our country. We are a country where, very often, sons follow fathers and their professions. Increasingly, daughters are following their mothers' profession...And to my mind, this is something which is there. I mean, in some ways, in our country," Mr. Tharoor added.