Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor faced the ire of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju who took a subtle dig at Tharoor’s book, “Why I Am A Hindu”, on Twitter .

Tharoor has been on a tour to promote his book during literature festivals.

Rijiju shared a snapshot of a brief excerpt from the book criticising Tharoor’s comments on religion, saying that he lacks “strong belief” in his “own faith”.

“Shashi Tharoor has rightly stated a mindset. A perfect case of fait accompli. Such lack of strong belief in own faith led invasion of Bharat by outsiders at will and ruled for more than thousand years,” Rijiju wrote on Twitter.

Shashi Tharoor has rightly stated a mindset. A perfect case of fait accompli. Such lack of strong belief in own faith led invasion of Bharat by outsiders at will and ruled for more than thousand years. pic.twitter.com/pACuTZiSt7

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 5, 2018

The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram hit back saying that Rijiju has quoted the first sentence of a 302-page book and advised him to read the book in its entirety.

Dear @KirenRijiju, you have quoted the first sentences of a 302 page book, the rest of which goes on to explain precisely the very “strong belief in own faith” whose alleged absence you decry. Facts may not matter to your party, but as a DU alumnus, you can do better. Do read. https://t.co/BqAzEnZNfR

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2018

To which Rijiju responded by saying, “I’m not saying you don’t believe in your faith. You’ve elicited only “Tolerance in abundance” about Hinduism”, while stating that his point was regarding the “the absence of emotionally unwavering connect to own faith without treating motherland as just a geographical piece”.

Dear @ShashiTharoor, I’m not saying you don’t believe in your faith. You’ve elicited only “Tolerance in abundance” about Hinduism. My point is the absence of emotionally unwavering connect to own faith without treating motherland as just a geographical piece. https://t.co/JfpTsOCmeZ

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 5, 2018

Padma Bhushan recipient and Ayurvedic teacher and writer, David Frawley also criticised Tharoor in a tweet and said: “The new Congress Liberal Hinduism via Shashi Tharoor is a secularist fraud to discredit Hindu forces, divide Hindus and undermine the new Hindu revival in India�” Frawley’s tweet was accompanied with a link to a story on www.hindupost.in.

Tharoor responded in equal measure; “Dear @davidfrawleyved, I’ve done you the courtesy of reading your books before commenting on them.I’m disappointed that you have not returned the favour but attacked my book without quoting it or refuting a single one of its arguments. Political abuse is not debate. #WhyIAmAHindu,” Tharoor responded in a tweet.

Dear @davidfrawleyved, I’ve done you the courtesy of reading your books before commenting on them.I’m disappointed that you have not returned the favour but attacked my book without quoting it or refuting a single one of its arguments. Political abuse is not debate. #WhyIAmAHindu https://t.co/rXyg1LOmnc

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2018