Moitra on Tuesday had stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as "an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess", as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way. While the BJP severely criticised Moitra and her party Trinamool Congress distanced itself from the comment and condemned it, Tharoor said he was "taken aback by the attack on Moitra" and urged everyone to "lighten up and leave religion to individuals to practice privately".

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Tharoor said,"I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra ?for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess". "We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It’s obvious that ?@MahuaMoitra wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately," he said.

When asked about Tharoor's post, Congress communication department head Pawan Khera said the party's stand is that these comments are Tharoor's "personal opinion". Replying to a post criticising him for his remarks and accusing him of "selective politics", Tharoor had also ticked off the person, saying "if you can’t tell the difference between a Hindu lady insulting the Prophet of Islam and a Hindu lady describing ways in which devotion is expressed to a Hindu goddess, then I’m afraid you're beyond redemption".

(With PTI Inputs)