Shashi Tharoor backed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the latter’s clarification on the alleged ‘Congress is a Muslim party’ remark. In a tweet posted on Tuesday evening, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, said that he stands for an inclusive India.

“I stand for #InclusiveIndia. #IAmCongress,” wrote the 62-year-old Tharoor, who is the Chairman of All India Professionals Congress.

In line with his party chief’s remark that Congress stands with the “last person in the line”, Tharoor accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deliberately fanning a lie. He said that his party is inclusive and does not cater to any one religion or community.

“The BJP campaign is based on a lie. People who attended the meeting have denied that any such thing was said,” Tharoor was quoted as saying by News18.

Congress leaders have maintained that their president did not make the controversial statement as was reported by an Urdu daily.

“The Congress is a party for Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Parsis. We are a party for everyone. That is what we were created for. Our leaders, workers, voters come from every religion,” asserted Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Congress leader also said that religion and governance should be kept apart.

“It is sad when religion rather than governance become the stuff of political discussion on our media channels. Ideally we should keep the two firmly apart,” he said outside the Hanuman temple in Palayam which he visited on the occasion of Karkkidakam – the annual ‘Ramayana month’ in Kerala.

It is sad when religion rather than governance become the stuff of political discussion on our media channels. Ideally we should keep the two firmly apart. pic.twitter.com/y931yGox6z

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 17, 2018

Earlier on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi said that he and his party stood with those who were persecuted irrespective of their identity.

“I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me,” said Gandhi days after he reportedly told an Urdu daily that his party was for Muslims.

“I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress,” Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

In response, the BJP demanded an apology from Gandhi and said that the tweet by the 48-year-old Congress chief is an acceptance of his reported remark.

Read More: Last man in the line is not with you, BJP tells Rahul Gandhi

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “With his tweet, Rahul Gandhi accepted that Congress is a Muslim party.”

“You say that Congress is standing with the last man in the line. But because you never stood with the last man in the line is the reason why the last man in the line is not with you,” Patra added.