Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his (Modi’s) victory “came because of a very clever packaging of development message”.

Tharoor had also described Prime Minister Modi as an excellent salesman with an empty bag.

“Vajpayee made the government with 182 seats, Modi has 282. These extra 100 seats did not come because of Hindutva message. These seats came because of a very clever packaging of development message,” Tharoor said at an ‘In conversation’ programme on his book ‘Why I am a Hindu’ as part of the Krithi international book festival here.   

“That is what bottled those extra per cent of votes,” Tharoor added.

Further questioned over the acceptance of those people, who attack others for marrying into another faith or eating beef, Tharoor noted, “People who are willing to attack others for marrying into another faith or allegedly eating beef is gaining more acceptance than it should. People like them exist and we can’t wish them away.”

Tharoor said the Congress should have taken more active steps to resolve the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhumi dispute and described the demolition of the mosque as a very shameful incident.

Tharoor has dabbled in fiction and non-fiction with focus on contemporary history and politics. ‘Why I Am a Hindu’, his 17th book, marked his first attempt at writing on religion.