Rushdie video row: Congress defends Rajasthan government

While Booker-winning author Salman Rushdie has refused to back down after being denied his live video link at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Congress has come out in defence of the Rajasthan government.

Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh tweeted, "We are a multi-religious, multi-ethnic society. We can't allow anyone to hurt the sentiments of

any particular religious group - be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists or any other. We must respect their sentiments and not hurt them."

Rushdie on Tuesday couldn't address the gathering after the owner of the venue Diggi Palace Ram Prataap Singh denied permission.

In an interview to NDTV, the disappointed author of 'The Satanic Verses' said he felt disappointment on behalf of the country and lashed out at the Congress for being in connivance with religious gangsters for electoral gains.

Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury said the organisers had not been left with any other choice in view of the protests. "There are many issues to look at in the Rushdie episode. There were a lot of people agitating against it (Rushdie's proposed address). Whether it was against freedom of expression, we can look at it collectively later," Chowdhury said.

The Congress spokesperson dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusation that Rushdie episode had "exposed Congress for its worst communal vote bank politics".

"It is nothing new from the BJP. They are patent holders for communal problems," Chowdhury said.

The Rajasthan Police told reporters in Jaipur that they had told the organisers that they cannot allow Rushdie to speak via video in view of resentment simmering in the city against his address.

Rushdie flayed the Congress and said that it was very convenient for everyone in the Congress that he did not come to India just before the Uttar Pradesh elections scheduled in February-March.

"I wasn't contacted by anyone in the government at the beginning. The Rajasthan authorities were saying to the organisers that they wanted to make my trip possible. But as it got closer and closer that commitment started to waiver. I have some skepticism about how genuine their commitment was. It was very convenient to everyone in the Congress that I did not come just before the UP vote," he said in an interview to NDTV news Channel.

The Congress is desperately trying to woo the 16 per cent Muslims in Uttar Pradesh in order to revive the party in the state. The state's population is around 20 crore.

Saying "the way in which the Congress party in centre or in Rajasthan, and many other parties stated their opposition", Rushdie said he "felt confident that some way would be found to prevent him from coming".

"And sadly it was."

"Men of violence need to be called by their true name. This is gangsterism. That is the true crime. It's a black farce," he said. Stating he has been "dealing with this nonsense for a quarter of a century", he said his book 'The Satanic Verses' was widely read and appreciated.

"I just go on with my work and with my life. I'm not easily fazed by this sort of thing anymore," he said.

He said the incident showed "India that values' freedom is very much alive and kicking and not being well represented by its leaders". The voters in Lucknow say Rushdie is a non-issue.

An Ajmer court on Wednesday will hear a complaint filed by some Muslim groups against the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival as well as the four authors who read excerpts from 'The Satanic Verses'.