Cong leaders wanted Rushdie kept out of India :

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JAIPUR: A major flashpoint ahead of the Jaipur Literary Festival has been avoided with a jittery Rajasthan government on Monday persuading organizers to ask Salman Rushdie , the main draw at the book-lovers’ jamboree, to call off his visit.Rajasthan chief secretary Salauddin Ahmed is learnt to have called the organizers to discuss Rushdie’s presence that, sources in the state government said, would have created a huge security risk, given the threat of protests by Muslim groups.“Rushdie’s trip has been cancelled. We have been informed,” said a senior Rajasthan police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The organizers, however, didn’t confirm the cancellation but the Booker Prize-winning author’s events on the January 20-24 programme were purged from the JLF website.Anxiety in the ruling Congress in Rajasthan as well as the Centre during this election season has grown ever since Darul Uloom, Deoband’s vice-chancellor wrote to the Union government earlier this month, insisting the author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ be barred from entering India, a surprising demand since Rushdie has been to the country five times since the controversy over the book erupted, including one to JLF’s inaugural 2007 edition.The Deobandis had asked the government not to give him a visa but within hours, Rushdie tweeted that he didn’t need one since he was categorized as a Person of Indian Origin and could come and go as he pleased. That put the government in a spot and forced them to lean on the lit fest organizers to plead with Rushdie to back off. The author hasn’t made any comment since news of his cancellation broke.Rajasthan’s sensitivities over the visit of controversial author Salman Rushdie to the Jaipur literature festival , however, are easier to comprehend.The state government has been on the defensive after the state police were accused of failing to protect Muslim protesters in Gopalgarh where riots last September left nine Muslims dead.It’s learnt that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Union law and minorities affairs minister Salman Khurshid met to discuss Rushdie’s visit and the demand by conservative Muslim groups, including clerics in Rajasthan who had organized a 7,000-strong protest in Jaipur.Some Rajasthan Muslim organizations had announced a protest against Rushdie’s visit with one even declaring a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone ready to hurl a shoe at the author.Rajasthan PCC chief Chandrabhan had on Thursday demanded a ban on Rushdie’s visit and the Congress MP from Jaipur Mahesh Joshi had backed him.Rushdie had two sessions, ‘Midnight’s Child on Jan 20’ and ‘Inglish, Amlish: The chutneyfication of English’ the next day. Organizers told reporters on Sunday that Rushdie’s first session was postponed. “We have removed his trip itinerary from the website in view of the ongoing controversy,” said a JLF organizer.Salman Rushdie’s decision to not attend the Jaipur Literary Festival sends out all the wrong signals. It would appear the government failed to reassure the Indian-born author that he need have no fears about visiting the land of his birth; on the contrary, the festival organizers were told by the Congress-run state government that Rushdie’s visit could cause a law and order problem. The result is the impression that India is a soft state which succumbs easily to pressure. As for the Congress, it is open to the charge of appeasement once again.@debrosereeves: Double boo. Rushdie is not my only reason for attending the lit fest but it’s sad to hear he won’t be@ShaikhAafaque: Salman Rushdie is probably singing to Indian Muslims: Why this kolaveri...kolaveri..kolaveri di..