NEW DELHI: Indian National Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s home in Nainital was vandalised on Monday, the country’s media reported following controversy over the politician’s book on Ayodhya in which he has compared Hindutva with extremist organisations.
India Today while quoting DGI (Kumaun) Neelesh Anand reported that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in connection with the incident against 21 people.
His Nanital home could be seen set ablaze in a video that the politician shared on Facebook, with separate images showing charred doors, broken windows, and tall flames engulfing the building.
“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?” the politician wrote on Facebook.
In another Facebook post, the Indian politician wrote, “So much 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.”
The politician has come under fire from BJP and Hindutva groups after he compared Hindutva with terrorist groups Boko Haram and Daesh in his book “Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times”, The Wire reported.
The extremist groups have objected to a particular passage in the book, which states: “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 [Daesh] and Boko Haram of recent years.”
Meanwhile, talking to ANI news agency, Salman said, “I have said in my book that people who do such things do not belong to the Hindu religion. The Hindu religion is a beautiful religion that has given a fantastic culture to this country and I am proud of it. This attack is not on me but on the Hindu religion.”
