'You've given respectability to ISIS', says Jaitley as Azad denies comparing Islamic State with RSS

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday rejected claims that he had compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

Azad, Leader of Opposition in the upper house, clarified in the Rajya Sabha as Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi demanded the Congress party to apologise for the statement made by its leader.

Speaking on Saturday at an event organised by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Azad had drawn a parallel between the RSS and the ISIS, saying “So, we oppose organisations like ISIS, the way we oppose RSS. If those among us in Islam too do wrong things, they are no way less than RSS.”

Amid an uproar over his controversial remarks, Azad flashed a CD containing his speech at the event and said, if there is any difference between what I said and the speech in the CD, then the government can bring privilege motion against me.

Repeating what he said at the event, Azad said, “We condemn ISIS-like organisations as much as we condemn the RSS.”

“I have not compared the ISIS with the RSS,” he added.

This is CD of my speech. If anything wrong is found in it, you can move privilege motion- GN Azad in RS pic.twitter.com/fDe6CpBFMA — ANI (@ANI_news) March 14, 2016

Responding to Azad's clarification, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said, “I respect Azad ji but he must realise that he has faltered this time.”

“By comparing the ISIS - a terror group - with the RSS, knowingly or unknowingly, you (Azad) have given respectability to the ISIS,” Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha.