India's opposition Congress party MP Shashi Tharoor, known for his mastery of the English language and his use of big words whose meanings are not commonly understood, took aim at the ruling BJP for allegedly charging people with sedition as “its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia.”

Tweeting his “word of the day” - a word game that has given the former UN under secretary general and junior foreign minister a large following among the English-speaking educated middle class in India and South Asia - Tharoor explained that the word ‘allodoxaphobia’ meant having an “irrational fear of opinions”.

According to The Indian Express, the logophile said it has been the “word of the day” for the last seven years, from the time the BJP was voted to power in New Delhi.

Using the word in a sentence, Tharoor took a dig at the BJP saying, “The BJP government in UP slaps sedition & UAPA cases on people because its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia.”

The remarks were an allusion to the BJP's political reputation of intolerance of dissenting opinion, especially views critical of its top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (SAM)