Nainital: The house of Salman Khurshid, who has been in the eye of a storm for drawing a parallel between ‘Hindutva’ and radical Islamist groups in his new book, was allegedly vandalised on Monday.
The senior Congress leader shared visuals and videos of the incident on his Facebook page and Twitter handle, showing charred doors and shattered window panes at his Nainital home, with two persons trying to douse the flames.
“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 former Union minister wrote in the post.
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) November 15, 2021
In his book titled ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’, Khurshid has compared a “robust version” of Hindutva to the jihadist Islam of terror groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram.
Criticising the incident, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the mounting levels of intolerance in politics should be denounced by those in power.
“This is disgraceful.@salman7khurshid is a statesman who has done India proud in international forums &always articulated a moderate, centrist, inclusive vision of the country domestically,” Tharoor tweeted.
This is disgraceful. @salman7khurshid is a statesman who has done India proud in international forums &always articulated a moderate, centrist, inclusive vision of the country domestically. The mounting levels of intolerance in our politics should be denounced by those in power. https://t.co/OQFBoN1Pgw
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 15, 2021
There has been an outrage over Khurshid’s writings. Hindu Sena, a Right-wing group, demanded a ban on the book on Friday, alleging that his observations harm social integrity and hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.