Kanhaiya never said he is not proud to be Indian: Tharoor

Days after he drew flak for comparing Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar with Bhagat Singh, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said the student leader had never said he was not proud to be an Indian.

“When this young man, who you object to so strongly, stands up and says I want freedom from...he mentions casteism, he mentions capitalism. I don’t agree necessarily to things that he talks about. He has never said that he doesn’t take pride in being an Indian. What he says is contrary – that he is proud enough of India that he wants to change it to a better place...he is also proud of jawans fighting on border,” Tharoor said.

“He has seen his mother washing clothes, his father is bed-ridden. Don’t tell me his family is not proud of the country,” he said.