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- Published: November 15, 2021 19:32
New Delhi: Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s Nainital home was vandalised and set on fire, amidst the controversy related to his new book on Ayodhya in which he equated ‘Hindutva’ with radical Islamist groups.
Salman Khurshid shared some visuals on his Facebook account which showed tall flames, charred doors, and smashed windowpanes at his Nainital home. Two men are seen trying to extinguish the fire by throwing water.
Posting the visuals, Salman Khurshid wrote, “I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?”
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) November 15, 2021
“So such is debate now. Shame is too ineffective a word. Besides I still hope that we can reason together one day and agree to disagree if not more,” Khurshid added.
One of the videos showed a group of people waving the BJP flag standing around the fire and raising slogans, “Jai Shri Ram.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reacted to the vandalism and tweeted, “This is disgraceful @salman7khurshid is a statesman who has done India proud in international forums &always articulated a moderate, centrist, inclusive vision of the country domestically.”
“The mounting levels of intolerance in our politics should be denounced by those in power,” added the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
The former Union Minister has been on headlines since the launch of his new book, ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.’ The controversy is a passage that read, “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.”
The BJP accusing Khurshid’s remark stated that he has hurt the sentiments of Hindus and that Congress is using to create “communal politics” to subside Muslim votes.
Following this, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to differentiate between “Hinduism” and “Hindutva” while BJP hit back a response stating that Mr. Gandhi and his party have a “pathological hatred” of Hinduism.
Khurshid has also suffered criticism from people within his party. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad termed his “Hindutva” parallel “exaggeration.”
“We may not agree with Hindutva as a political ideology but comparing it with ISIS and Jihadist Islam is factually wrong and exaggeration,” Mr. Azad said.