“What else can we expect from somebody whose party coined the term Saffron terror just to draw equivalence with Islamic jihad, to get Muslim votes?” BJP leader and IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid has landed himself in hot water over his new book “Sunrise Over Ayodhya”. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed Khurshid for comparing Hindutva to radical terrorist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram in his book.
Senior BJP leader and IT cell chief Amit Malviya brought up the ‘saffron terror’ issue and said that the Congress is drawing equivalence with Islamic jihad just to get Muslim votes.
“Congress’s Salman Khurshid in his new book writes that Hindutva is similar to the jihadist Islamist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram. What else can we expect from somebody whose party coined the term Saffron terror just to draw equivalence with Islamic jihad, to get Muslim votes?” Malviya tweeted.
Reacting to Khurshid’s statement, BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that this reflects the actual mindset of the grand old party. According to him, the Congress tries to legitimise the radical elements of ISIS by creating an artificial equivalence with Hindus.
In the chapter called ‘The Saffron Sky’ of the book ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times,’ Khurshid has compared Hindutva to Boko Haram and ISIS.Â
“Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years,” he states in his new book on page number 113.
A criminal complaint has been lodged against Salman Khurshid in Delhi. Vivek Garg, a Delhi-based lawyer, filed the complaint. He has urged the police to lodge a case against the Congress leader for ‘defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism’.
WHAT KHURSHID HAS TO SAY
Salman Khurshid retorted by saying that Hinduism is a very beautiful religion. There is no greater insult than somebody on behalf of the BJP or RSS going and filing a complaint. “Do we have freedom in this country or not? Do we have freedom to think, freedom to speak?” questioned the Congress leader.
About the analogy made in the book of Hindutva with ISIS and Bokoharam, Khurshid said that there would be no argument only if one does not speak at all.
According to him, one will have to remain quiet and watch what’s happening in UP, Assam and Tripura and shut our eyes and mouth to avoid confrontation. “That is the new India that is being built and we don’t subscribe to that,” said the Congress leader.
ABOUT SALMAN KHURSHID
Salman Khurshid is an Indian politician, senior advocate, author and also a law teacher. He used to be the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs.
He has been elected from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency as a Congress leader in the General Election of 2009. He belongs to the Farrukhabad area. Before this, he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991 from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency as well.Â
Khurshid became the Union Deputy Minister of Commerce in June 1991 and later became the Union Minister of State for External Affairs. He began his political career in the year 1981 as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under the prime ministership of Indira Gandhi.
Khurshid has been involved in writing and acting in plays as well. He is also the author of the play Sons of Babur, published by Rupa & Co., which has been staged at the Red Fort in Delhi, with Tom Alter in the lead role.
Salman Khurshid has been the editor of “The Contemporary Conservative: Selected Writings of Dhiren Bhagat, ” published in 1990.
