A magistrate court in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow city on Wednesday ordered the police to register a first information report against senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid for comparing Hindu religion to terror outfits like Boko Haram and ISIS in his book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood In Our Times, PTI reported.
Since November, the book has faced backlash from Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu Sena leaders. Two lawyers, Vineet Jindal and Raj Kishore, had also sought a ban on Khurshid’s book saying it could disrupt public peace. But, the Delhi High Court had refused to ban the book.
On Wednesday, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shantanu Tyagi ordered the police to lodge an FIR within three days days based on a complaint from an Uttar Pradesh resident Shubhangi Tyagi.
She has alleged that certain portions of the book hurt religious feelings of Hindus. She has also said that an application was moved in the police station for registering of an FIR against Khurshid. Since the police did not act on her request, she filed a plea in the court.
“From a perusal of the application and the arguments raised in its support, I am of the opinion that cognisable offences are made out against Salman Khurshid,” the magistrate said.
The controversy
An excerpt from the senior Congress leader’s book 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”.
But a controversy began after BJP’s Information Technology cell head Amit Malviya shared the passage on Twitter. Following this, other BJP leaders also criticised the excerpt in Khurshid’s book about the Babri Masjid dispute.
Khurshid’s home in Uttarakhand’s Nainital city was set on fire on November 15. Four people were arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, Khurshid has maintained that he held Hinduism “in the highest esteem”. “Hindu religion is a very beautiful thing,” he had added. “There can be no greater insult than somebody on behalf of the BJP or RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] going and filing a complaint.”
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