Madhya Pradesh Home Minister threatens to get Salman Khurshid's book banned, here’s why

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that the government is mulling to ban Salman Khurshid's book for reportedly comparing Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.

New Delhi: Amid row sparked by senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid's book on the Ayodhya verdict, the Madhya Pradesh government has threatened to ban it in the state. 

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Friday (November 12) said that the government is mulling to ban the book titled 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times' for reportedly comparing Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.

Addressing mediapersons in Bhopal, Mishra as quoted by PTI said, "We will take the opinion of legal experts on the book and get it banned in Madhya Pradesh." 

In a sharp attack at former Union minister Khurshid, the BJP minister said, "These people do not leave any opportunity to target Hindutva and divide Hindus on caste lines. After 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge Inshallah Inshallah', Rahul Gandhi was the first to go there (on that path). Salman Khurshid is now taking forward the same idea.” 

According to the news agency, Khurshid in his book has written: "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."

Taking objection to this, two Delhi-based lawyers filed complaints on Thursday with the Delhi Police against Khurshid, for "allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism" in his book, ANI reported. 

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi during a training program of 'Jan Jagran Abhiyan' on Friday spelled out the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva. “What is the difference between Hinduism & Hindutva, can they be the same thing? If they're the same thing, why don't they have the same name? They're obviously different things. Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh or a Muslim? Hindutva of course is,” ANI quoted the former Congress chief as saying. 

(With agency inputs)