Madhya Pradesh govt to ban Salman Khurshid's book for equating Hindutva with ISIS

The Madhya Pradesh government is all set to ban Congress leader Salman Khurshid's book for equating Hindutva with terror outfits ISIS and Boko Haram. Revealing this while speaking to the media on Friday, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra stated that this was a ploy by Congress leaders to malign the Hindus. Calling upon Congress president Sonia Gandhi to clarify her position, Mishra mentioned that he will take the advice of legal experts before imposing a ban on the book Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times.

MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra remarked, "He has published a very condemnable book. In reality, these people do not leave any opportunity to condemn Hindus, divide them into castes and condemn the country. Rahul Gandhi was the first person to meet the person who said 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge Inshallah Inshallah'. Salman Khurshid is propagating the same mindset."

"The Supreme Court has said that Hindutva is a way of life. He raised questions over the same Hindutva. Now Sonia Gandhi should declare whom does she support. I will talk to the legal experts in Madhya Pradesh and will ban this book in Madhya Pradesh," he added. 

Complaints filed against Salman Khurshid

The controversy was ignited by an excerpt in the 'The Saffron Sky' chapter of Khurshid's book which read, "Whatever rationalization might have been offered, the Ayodhya saga was throughout about one faith trumping the methods of another. But the former faith itself was experiencing a contest of interpretation. Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints was 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." 

Lawyers Vivek Garg and Vineet Jindal have filed a criminal complaint against Khurshid urging Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to register an FIR against him. Hitting out at him, his own party colleague and former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked, "In Mr. Salman Khurshid’s new book, we may not agree with Hindutva as a political ideology distinct from composite culture of Hinduism, but comparing Hindutva with ISIS and Jihadist Islam is factually wrong and an exaggeration". At present, Khurshid is the chairman of Congress' Central Manifesto Committee for the Uttar Pradesh polls.