Shashi Tharoor made the joke in a tweet.
A government body yesterday withdrew its appeal asking people to hug a cow on Valentine's Day amid a flood of jokes and memes on social media. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor joined the bandwagon today and tweeted his humorous take on the 'Cow Hug Day'.
He said that the "let them hug their guy" instruction may have been misinterpreted as "gaay".
"Was the Government cow-ed by the jokes made at its expense or was it merely cow-ardice? My guess is the original appeal was an oral instruction: “Valentine's Day: let them hug their guy” & the last word was misheard by a HindiRashtravadi as gaay," Mr Tharoor tweeted.
The Animal Welfare Board in its appeal to celebrate "Cow Hug Day" on February 14 had said Vedic traditions are almost on the "verge of extinction" due to the "progress of West culture" and that the "dazzle of western civilisation has made our physical culture and heritage almost forgotten".
The statement also said that hugging cows will bring emotional richness and increase "individual and collective happiness".
The body yesterday withdrew its appeal amid widespread criticism on social media.
February 14 is observed as Valentine's Day across the world.