Congress divides people on basis of religion, says Kishan Reddy

Amid the controversy over Salman Khurshid's recent book 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya', Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday alleged that Congress tries to divide people in the country on the basis of religion whenever the election is around the corner.

Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "In India, Hindus are being termed as terrorists and the statement coming from a senior Congress leader is not good. Indians believe in brotherhood, peace. Hindus also believe in secularism so never disrespect Hindus. Here in India, Hindus, Muslims, Christians everybody live equally."

"Whenever there are elections around the corner, the Congress party tries to communalism on the basis of religion since the time of independence. So I request Congress party leaders do not break people on the basis of religion. For the elections, do not divert people on the basis of religion," he added.

Khurshid's book on the Ayodhya verdict was released last week. It explored the Apex Court's landmark judgement on the Ayodhya dispute. Khurshid has compared Hindutva to radical terrorist groups like "ISIS and Boko Haram".

Meanwhile, two Delhi lawyers have filed complaints on Thursday with Delhi Police against Khurshid, for allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism in his book.

The development comes at a time when seven states in the country namely Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are slated to go for assembly elections in the year 2022.

( With inputs from ANI )