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Tag: Salman Khurshid

  • New Cong president will take forward leadership’s vision: Salman Khurshid

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Monday said that the new party president would take forward and implement the vision of the party leadership.

    “Party leadership will remain. The new party president will decide how to take forward and implement the leadership’s vision,” Congress leader Salman Khurshid said after casting his vote at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in the national capital.

    He also lauded Shashi Tharoor’s attempt to contest the internal elections.

    Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has directly contested against veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge and earlier in the day said that the revival of the party has begun whatever the outcome and that the fate of the Congress lies in the hands of the party workers.

    He further said that he was confident of winning the election but acknowledged the odds against him.

    Tharoor also said he had spoken to Kharge earlier in the day.

    Kharge also told ANI today: “It is part of our internal election. Whatever we said to each other is on a friendly note. Together we have to build the party. (Shashi) Tharoor telephoned me and wished me luck and I also said the same.”

    Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, after voting for his desired new chief, said that Congress was the only political party to hold elections for its president.

    Speaking to the ANI further, Salman Khurshid said that one should not compare the value of human life and political scores.

    Reacting to National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah’s allegation that the incidents of targeted killings by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are not going to stop “until justice is served”, Khurshid said that it is crucial to hold a healthy conversation with the ones who have been there experiencing the ground reality.

    “This will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happening due to Article 370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?” National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah said earlier in the day, reacting to the recent killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. 

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Monday said that the new party president would take forward and implement the vision of the party leadership.

    “Party leadership will remain. The new party president will decide how to take forward and implement the leadership’s vision,” Congress leader Salman Khurshid said after casting his vote at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in the national capital.

    He also lauded Shashi Tharoor’s attempt to contest the internal elections.

    Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has directly contested against veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge and earlier in the day said that the revival of the party has begun whatever the outcome and that the fate of the Congress lies in the hands of the party workers.

    He further said that he was confident of winning the election but acknowledged the odds against him.

    Tharoor also said he had spoken to Kharge earlier in the day.

    Kharge also told ANI today: “It is part of our internal election. Whatever we said to each other is on a friendly note. Together we have to build the party. (Shashi) Tharoor telephoned me and wished me luck and I also said the same.”

    Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, after voting for his desired new chief, said that Congress was the only political party to hold elections for its president.

    Speaking to the ANI further, Salman Khurshid said that one should not compare the value of human life and political scores.

    Reacting to National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah’s allegation that the incidents of targeted killings by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are not going to stop “until justice is served”, Khurshid said that it is crucial to hold a healthy conversation with the ones who have been there experiencing the ground reality.

    “This will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happening due to Article 370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?” National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah said earlier in the day, reacting to the recent killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. 

  • Accused in arson case at Salman Khurshid’s house acquitted

    By PTI

    NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court has acquitted the two main accused in the November 2021 case of vandalism and arson at the house of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid.

    Kundan Chilwal and Rakesh Kapil were acquitted of the charges by senior Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra on Thursday on the basis of a letter of settlement produced by the caretaker of Khurshid’s property, who was also the complainant in the matter.

    On November 15, 2021, arson, vandalism and firing were reported at Khurshid’s house in village Puda in Mukteshwar, causing damage to the property.

    On the complaint of the caretaker of the house Sundar Ram, the police had registered a case against Chilwal and Kapil.

    Earlier, the court had stayed their arrest.

    On Thursday, an agreement was presented before the court on behalf of Chilwal, Kapil and caretaker Sundar Ram.

    Based on this, the court disposed of the case.

    The agreement states that these people were not involved in the incident which was carried out due to political reasons.

    Khurshid’s house had been attacked amid a raging controversy over his book ‘“Sunrise Over Ayodhya:Nationhood In Our Times’” in which he had drawn a comparison between Hindutva and ISIS.

    NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court has acquitted the two main accused in the November 2021 case of vandalism and arson at the house of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid.

    Kundan Chilwal and Rakesh Kapil were acquitted of the charges by senior Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra on Thursday on the basis of a letter of settlement produced by the caretaker of Khurshid’s property, who was also the complainant in the matter.

    On November 15, 2021, arson, vandalism and firing were reported at Khurshid’s house in village Puda in Mukteshwar, causing damage to the property.

    On the complaint of the caretaker of the house Sundar Ram, the police had registered a case against Chilwal and Kapil.

    Earlier, the court had stayed their arrest.

    On Thursday, an agreement was presented before the court on behalf of Chilwal, Kapil and caretaker Sundar Ram.

    Based on this, the court disposed of the case.

    The agreement states that these people were not involved in the incident which was carried out due to political reasons.

    Khurshid’s house had been attacked amid a raging controversy over his book ‘“Sunrise Over Ayodhya:Nationhood In Our Times’” in which he had drawn a comparison between Hindutva and ISIS.

  • BJP using electoral victory as license to loot nation: Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday came down heavily on the Narendra Modi-led central government over the price rise of essential commodities, claiming that the party was using its “electoral victory as a license to loot the nation and its people”.

    Addressing a press meet here as part of his party’s nationwide campaign against price rise, the senior Congress leader alleged that the Centre was not taking any step to check the spiralling rates.

    The government gives “price rise in petrol and diesel as gift” to people every morning, he quipped.

    Prices of petrol and diesel have gone up by Rs 10 per litre across India in 16 days.

    The veteran leader also stated that “There has been a 531 per cent excise duty hike on diesel and 203 per cent on petrol since the BJP-led NDA assumed power in 2014.”

    “The Modi government has accrued Rs 26 lakh crore in eight years by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel alone,” he claimed.

    The increase in the price of cooking gas and hike in toll tax on national highways were burning a hole in people’s pockets, he maintained.

    “The Modi government has not spared patients too. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has announced a hike of 10.76 per cent in prices of around 800 essential drugs from April 1,” he pointed out.

    Khurshid also noted that housing prices and construction costs have gone up, while additional tax deduction on home loan for first-time buyers has been abolished.

    “There is no sphere where prices have not increased. The Modi government remains responsible for this theft. The party has used its electoral victory as a license to loot the nation and its people,” the senior Congress leader added.

  • ‘Only Gandhis can take Congress out of the crisis’: Khurshid on ‘leadership change’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: When did Kapil Sibal fight an election for any position in the party, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid asked on Wednesday as he hit back at his party colleague for criticising the Gandhi family’s leadership.

    Saying it was a “bit sad” to complain after receiving so much from the organisation, Khurshid also attacked the ‘Group of 23’ signatories, including Sibal, who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking sweeping changes in the party.

    “The Gandhi family is the party’s integrating factor and the best possible leadership option in this moment of crisis,” Khurshid told PTI, countering Sibal who said it was time for the Gandhis to step aside from a leadership role and give some other person a chance.

    “When did Mr. Sibal fight an election to get into any position in the party,” he asked in response to Sibal’s remarks in an interview that the Gandhis should voluntarily move away because “a body nominated by them will never tell them that they should not continue to hold the reins of power”.

    Khurshid’s staunch defence of the Gandhis comes at a time the Congress faces an existential crisis following its electoral defeats in the recent assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh where it won only two seats and a little over 2 per cent of the votes.

    According to Khurshid, the common perception after talking to people within the party is that they would like Rahul Gandhi to take over as full-time party president.

    “We can all sincerely hope that the elections come in August, and that in August he will oblige and become president of the party again.”

    “We have been accustomed to a somewhat comfortable life of being in power guaranteed as it were by members of the Gandhi family over generations and we are suddenly feeling upset that they can’t keep us in power for now,” he added.

    The former Union minister argued that internal bickering does not help the party, and instead helps the BJP.

    “Leadership is in cuckoo land. I want a ‘Sab ki Congress’. Some want a ‘Ghar ki Congress’,” Sibal said in an interview to Indian Express.

    Slamming Sibal for the barbs, Khurshid said the crowds that had gathered in support of the Gandhi family on its own accord near the AICC headquarters when the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met on Sunday must also be considered part of an inclusive Congress.

    “When you talk about ‘sab ki Congress’, it means an inclusive Congress,” said the former Union minister, among the leaders, considered close to the Gandhi family.

    Referring to the CWC meeting including three members of the G-23 group who participated in a discussion reaffirming full faith in Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, Khurshid said giving “confusing signals” outside the party is not doing the party any service.

    “There was a free and frank discussion in the CWC. There were issues that people who belonged to G-23 raised and they were heard with all humility and seriousness and there was a friendly exchange of views. And then they participated in that decision (reposing full faith in Sonia Gandhi’s leadership),” said Khurshid, who is also a member of the CWC.

    “So now if people amongst them who have been gathering together before and after the CWC, are taking a different view, then frankly it is for them to disassociate themselves or to clarify.”

    The damage, he said, is irreversible if you give open interviews and come out and speak publicly.

    Referring to the G-23, Khurshid said if one catalogues what they have achieved and received from the party in comparison to “some of us”, the scales will be tilted towards them.

    “After receiving so much, for them to complain, seems a bit sad. If things in the party have not been fine as they should be in some imagined way, they are beneficiaries of things not being fine,” he said.

    Khurshid also addressed the oft raised question about Rahul Gandhi’s “accessibility”.

    “Of course, there are people who say he should be full time president and he should be really accessible to us the way Mrs Indira Gandhi, Mr Rajiv Gandhi were accessible to us or in previous years Sonia Ji was accessible to us. A lot of people do say he should be more accessible to us but they want him to be president,” Khurshid said.

    The senior Congress leader said people want Rahul Gandhi to be president but he wants to follow “constitutional propriety”.

    Khurshid said he could say without fear of contradiction that the commitment to the Congress legacy that he speaks of is “deep and robust in the Gandhis”, and he can’t see that in anyone who might figure as a possible leadership option.

    In another sarcastic jibe at Sibal, he said, “Is it that he was such a compelling person to become a Rajya Sabha MP that nobody could stop him, no. He was liked and he was respected and therefore he was made a Rajya Sabha MP. We must not forget the roots from where we come.”

  • Four arrested for vandalism at Salman Khurshid’s house in Nainital

    By PTI

    NAINITAL: Days after senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s house in Uttarakhand’s Nainital was vandalised, four people were arrested on Thursday in connection with the attack.

    Khurshid’s house at Satkol, about 15 km from Nainital, was vandalised on Monday amid the ongoing controversy over his book “Sunrise Over Ayodhaya: Nationhood In Our Times” in which he draws a comparison between Hindutva and terror outfits like ISIS.

    Those arrested are identified as Chandan Singh Lodhiyal (27), Umesh Mehta (30), Krishna Singh Bisht and Rajkumar Mehta (29), Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Nilesh Anand Bharne said.

    ​ALSO READ | Interim injunction plea on Salman Khurshid’s book rejected

    A 32 bore pistol along with a magazine has also been recovered from one of the accused, he said.

    Under the leadership of one Kundan Chilwal, who was also involved in the attack but has not been arrested, the four accused had gone to the house of the Congress leader to burn his effigy and chant slogans, the DIG said.

    The accused claimed that they were “harassed” by the caretaker at Khurshid’s residence, following which a squabble broke out leading to vandalism and arson at his property.

    ​ALSO READ | Apologise to the Hindus, Akhada Parishad tells Salman Khurshid

    They have been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, Bharne said.

    Shouting pro-Hindutva slogans, the attackers burnt an effigy of the Congress leader outside his house under Bhowali police station in Nainital district, besides damaging some glass doors and setting one wooden door on fire.

    The family of caretaker Sunder Lal was also threatened.

    Later, an FIR was registered against one person, who was identified, and 20 unknown people on the basis of a complaint by Sunder Lal.

  • Court refuses ex-parte injunction against publication, sale of Salman Khurshid’s book 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday refused to grant ex-parte injunction in a lawsuit seeking direction to stop the publication, circulation, and sale of former Union Minister Salman Khurshid’s book for allegedly hurting sentiments of a large section of the society.

    The suit, filed by Hindu Sena President Vishnu Gupta, has sought direction to the authorities concerned to stop the publication, circulation, and sale of the Book namely “Sunrise Over Ayodhya” for allegedly hurting the sentiments.

    Additional Civil Judge Preeti Parewa put up the matter for arguments and clarification on the maintainability of the suit on November 18.

    “In the opinion of this court, neither a prima­ facie case nor any exceptional circumstance for grant of ad­-interim ex-­parte injunction in favour of the plaintiff is made out in the present case.”

    ​ALSO READ | Petition filed in Delhi High Court against Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s book

    “Also, the plaintiff has failed to establish that the balance of convenience lies in his favour. Hence, the prayer for ad-­interim ex­-parte relief is declined at this stage,” the judge said.

    The court said that the author and publisher had the right to write and publish the book.

    “The plaintiff has not been able to establish that inconvenience will be caused to him to avoid the book or alleged ‘offensive’ excerpts of the book. On the other hand, the injunction would lead to hardship for the publishers and also curtail the right of speech and expression of the author,” the court said.

    It said that the applicant can always propagate against the book and can even publish a rebuttal to the alleged paragraphs which have hurt his sentiments.

    ALSO READ | Salman Khurshid’s Nainital home vandalised, torched amid uproar over new book

    “Also, only a copy of the excerpt has been placed on record and such excerpt cannot be read in exclusion/isolation for interpreting the context in which the said statement has been made,” the court noted.

    The plea claimed that the book launch event just before the upcoming assembly election in Uttar Pradesh was aimed at polarising and gaining the votes of the minorities in the state.

    The plea seeks a prohibitory injunction to prohibit the publication, distribution, circulation, and sale of the book and also ban the book in the larger interest of the society and country.

  • Apologise to the Hindus, Akhada Parishad tells Salman Khurshid

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN:  The head of a prominent Akhada council, said to be the apex body of all 13 akhada sects, has asked Congress leader Salman Khurshid to apologise to the Hindu community for comparing Hindutva to the Islamic terror groups ISIS and Boko Haram.

    Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP), said he would consider further steps after reading Khurshid’s book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.

    “Salman Khurshid should apologise to the Hindus for the absurd and objectionable comparison. Seers and saints will not let any such acts create a schism in Indian society. Ours is a society of ‘Sanatan’ culture, which is for spreading peace and prosperity across the world,” said Mahant Puri.

    Meanwhile, a forensic team of the state police on Tuesday visited Khurshid’s house that was vandalised and recovered seven empty cartridges of 32 bore bullets, one live . 32 bore bullet, blood samples on the glass window, ashes of inflammable substance and various other items.

    The team also spotted broken glasses of seven windows and one burnt door. The police have already given round-the-clock protection to the property.

    The Congress organised statewide protests against the alleged acts of vandalism. Party activists burnt effigies of the ruling BJP.

    On Monday, a mob carrying BJP flags chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and called Khurshid a Pakistani stooge.

    They allegedly vandalised his residence in Satkhali Tiura village in Shitla area of Mukteshwar in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. More than 20 people have been booked in the incident, said the senior police officials.

  • ‘One should not give importance to such statements’: Nitish chides Kangana, Khurshid

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday rubbished actor Kangana Ranaut’s remark about India getting Independence in 2014, saying, one should not even take notice of such things.

    Talking to reporters on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme ‘Janata Ke Darbaar Mein Mukhyamantri’, Kumar said he does not pay attention to people who make such statements for publicity.

    “How can anyone publish this? We should not even take notice of it. Should we even pay attention to it? One should not give importance to such statements. In fact, it should be made fun of,” he said.

    The actor had, in a recent interview, remarked that India got its freedom in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power and what it got in 1947 was “bheekh” (alms or handout).

    Her comments sparked outrage among politicians and common citizens alike.

    Many said she had insulted the country’s freedom fighters and their sacrifice, while some demanded that the government withdraw the Padma Shri award conferred on her recently.

    He also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday over his comments making a distinction between Hindu religion and Hindutva, asserting some people say “unnecessary things” to stay in limelight.

    He was responding to questions from journalists on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme “Janata Ke Darbaar Mein Mukhyamantri”, where he also defended his government’s prohibition policy against opposition criticism following the recent death of around 50 people after consuming spurious liquor.

    “What should I say on this?” Kumar shot back when asked to comment on Gandhi’s remarks.

    Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Kumar said, “You should ask the person who has made the statement. Some people have developed an attitude to say unnecessary things to remain in the limelight. So that the media covers them. This practice is quite prevalent in Bihar where certain people (opposition leaders) level allegations against me to hog the limelight in newspapers.”

    Gandhi had recently said Hindu dharma and Hindutva are “different things” and accused the BJP and RSS of spreading hatred.

    The BJP shot back, claiming the Congress leadership nurses a “pathological hatred” for Hinduism.

    “Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim. Hindutva, of course, is. In which book is it written? I have not seen it. I have read the Upanishads. I have not read it,” Gandhi had said, as he sought to draw a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva.

    Gandhi’s remarks had come in the backdrop of the controversy kicked up by a book authored by senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid.

    In his book ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’ Khurshid had equated the “robust version” of Hindutva to Jihadist Islam of terror groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.

    Responding to questions about the recent incidents of hooch deaths, Kumar said he has called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue of liquor ban.

    “I am once again saying that stern action will be taken against violators, including government officials,” he asserted.

    He, however, insisted the crime rate in Bihar has come down after the liquor ban was imposed.

    “The state government will again start the campaign to spread awareness about the ill-effects of drinking. I am not bothered about those who are criticising me for the liquor ban,” he said.

    The Nitish Kumar government had on April 5, 2016 banned the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor in the state.

    Amid mounting criticism from the Opposition over deaths caused by spurious liquor, Kumar is also facing heat from his ally BJP, which has sought a review of the state’s prohibition policy.

  • Now, Telangana BJP MLA writes to Amit Shah seeking ban on Salman Khushid’s book

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: A BJP MLA from Telangana on Monday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a ban on Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s book which has stoked a controversy over the former Union Minister allegedly comparing ‘Hindutva’ with jihadi organisations.

    BJP MLA in Telangana T Raja Singh Lodh contended Khurshid has insulted all Hindus and urged Shah to immediately impose a ban on the book for its anti-Hindu content and also take legal action against the Congress leader.

    In a letter addressed to Shah, Singh, floor leader of BJP in the state Legislative Assembly, said Hindu Dharma is all-embracing, overarching and wishes for the welfare of the universe.

    In its verdict related to ‘Hindutva’, the Supreme Court had stated it is a lifestyle with high thinking and ideal living, he said.

    ALSO READ | Salman Khurshid’s Nainital home vandalised, torched amid uproar over new book

    “Even then, only to defame Hindus and create misconceptions about ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hindu-phobia’, Congress leader Salman Khurshid has compared ‘Hindutva’ with jihadi organisations like the ‘Islamic State’ and ‘Boko Haram’ in his book titled ‘Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times’,” he said.

    Thus, Khurshid has insulted all Hindus, he alleged.

    Hitting out at Congress, he said the party has always been creating a false impression about ‘Hindutva’.

    He claimed Khurshid and Congress leaders were also spreading false information about Hindus staying all over the world, thus endangering their life.

    It is a crime under law to insult a large community of people by accusing them of being terrorists, misusing the freedom to think and write which are available in the country, he claimed, demanding that the government took immediate action to stop such things.

    He demanded that a ban should be immediately imposed on Salman Khurshid’s book for its anti-Hindu content.

    He said if ‘Satanic Verses’, by Salman Rushdie, could be banned in the country, then Khurshid’s book also could face a similar action.

    The BJP leader also also sought legal action against Khurshid for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.

    Apart from the BJP, Khurshid had faced criticism from his own party leader and former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad for comparing Hindutva with terror groups.

    Incidentally, Khurshid’s house in Uttarakhand’s Nainital was vandalised on Monday amid the row over the book.

  • Salman Khurshid’s Nainital home vandalised, torched amid uproar over new book

    By Online Desk

    The Nainital residence of Congress leader Salman Khurshid was vandalised on Monday amid controversy over his new book where he has compared ‘Hindutva’ to radical Islam.

    The video and photographs shared by Khurshid on Facebook show flames, charred doors and shattered window panes at his home. Two men are also seen trying to extinguishe the fire by throwing water.

    Sharing pictures and videos of the incident, Khurshid wrote on Facebook, “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?”

    “So such 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,” Khurshid added.

    Pictures shared by Khurshid on Facebook also show smashed windowpanes and a charred door. One video also shows a group of people waving a BJP flag standing around a fire and chanting slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”.

    Reacting to the development, party MP Shashi 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.”

    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
    Khurshid recently courted controversy with his new book in which he has drawn parallels between ‘Hindutva’ and radical Islam. His 354-page book – ‘Sunrise over Ayodhya-Nationhood in our times’ – was termed as an analysis of the Ayodhya dispute.