Shashi Tharoor Denies Communal Colour in 'Maharaja Valour' Comment

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has clarified he never made a communal statement after his comment criticising "Maharaja valour" in the Padmavati film controversy was projected by some BJP supporters as an attack on Rajput honour.

On Thursday, during his book launch on the British rule, Tharoor had taken on the Rajputs amid the Padmavati row and said that the "so-called valorous maharajas" had scurried to accommodate themselves when the British "trampled" over their honour and were now after a filmmaker claiming prestige was at stake.

Reacting to the BJP supporters, he said: “I am dismayed that some BJP supporters are claiming I attacked Rajput honour. I spoke about the Maharajahs who made their accommodations w/the British. I have never made a communal comment in my life.”

At an event here Tharoor was asked why his book, 'An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India', had a "whiff of victimhood" when he holds that Indians had connived with the English.

"It is (our fault) and I say so. I actually don't take the mantle of victimhood. In about half a dozen places in the book, I am harsh enough on us... Some British reviewers said 'Why doesn't he explain why the British conquered?' And it's a fair question...," Tharoor said.

"In fact, every single one of these so called valorous maharajas, who today are after a Mumbai filmmaker because their honour is at stake, they were less concerned about their honour when the British were trampling all over it. They scurried to accommodate themselves. So let's face it, there is no question, that we were complicit," he said.

The Congress leader's comments come at a time when Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie 'Padmavati' has been in the eye of a storm as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and some other outfits have accused the filmmaker of distorting history and hurting Hindu sentiments.

(With PTI inputs)