AMN / WEB DESK
The Nainital home of Congress leader Salman Khurshid was vandalised and set on fire today, days after his new book on Ayodhya sparked a controversy by drawing a parallel between “Hindutva” and radical Islamist groups.
Visuals shared by Mr Khurshid on Facebook show tall flames, charred doors and shattered window panes at his Nainital home. Two men are seen trying to douse the fire by throwing water.
Sharing the visuals, the Congress leader said in a post, “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?”
Asked to comment on the incident, DGI (Kumaun) Neelesh Anand was quoted as saying, “Rakesh Kapil and 20 others have been booked. Strict action will be taken against perpetrators.”
“I have said [in my book] that people who do such things do not belong to the Hindu religion. The Hindu religion is a beautiful religion that has given a fantastic culture to this country and I am proud of it. This attack is not on me but on the Hindu religion,” Khurshid told news agency ANI on Monday.
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?”
In one of the videos Khurshid shared on social media, a man can be seen trying to extinguish a fire at the Congress leader’s Nainital home.