The Congress on Tuesday said India does not need to draw lessons from any other country as many minorities have become the president and chief minister in the past, a remark seen as a rebuff to party leaders P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor who hoped India will follow Rishi Sunak’s example of electing a person from minorities to the top post.
AICC general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said respecting diversity has been India’s hallmark for many years and cited the examples of Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and A P J Abdul Kalam who held the top constitutional position in the country for many years.
After Indian-origin Sunak was picked as the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, Chidambaram and Tharoor had said that India should draw lessons from the UK and hoped one day this practice would be adopted in the country.
