Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. (Photo: IE)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress on Sunday sparred over a tweet by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif that was ‘liked’ by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. It was soon noticed by Amit Malviya, the head of BJP’s IT cell who took to Twitter to criticise the leader. Sharing a post he wrote, “Shameful to see Shashi Tharoor liking tweets by Foreign Minister of Pakistan insulting India’s Army Chief! But then that is expected of the Congress leaders…” In another post he said, “Oh wait! He is the current foreign minister, which makes it even worse!”

As soon as Malviya shared his post, Shashi Tharoor, clarifying his stance, said that “A ‘like’ is a bookmark, not a sign of approval.” The leader wrote: “We’ve all known how petty @BJP4India can be but this takes the biscuit. A “like” is a bookmark, not a sign of approval. I mark tweets i wish to return to when i have the time to deal with them. I have now finished a dinner engagement &dealt with it. Get a life @malviyamit!”

Oh wait! He is the current foreign minister, which makes it even worse! — Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) January 14, 2018

We’ve all known how petty @BJP4India can be but this takes the biscuit. A “like” is a bookmark, not a sign of approval. I mark tweets i wish to return to when i have the time to deal with them. I have now finished a dinner engagement &dealt with it. Get a life @malviyamit ! https://t.co/WZJW6uAkvW — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 14, 2018

The whole tussle was over Khawaja M. Asif’s tweet condemning a statement by the Indian Army Chief. The Pakistan Foreign Minister sharing his post on Saturday wrote, “Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to an invitation for a nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire,they are welcome to test our resolve.The general’s doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah.” This post by Asif comes after the Indian Amy Chief Bipin Rawt on Friday during a media briefing in Delhi, said the force was ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government.

“We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff,” Rawat had said at a press conference on Wednesday. The reaction of the Pak minister came after General Bipin Rawat had dismissed Islamabad’s assertions that its tactical nuclear weapons had prevented India from waging a military war on Pakistan.