Rushdie slams Rajasthan police for "inventing plot" to keep him away from JLF

""Rajasthan police invented plot to keep away Rushdie' I've investigated, & believe that I was indeed lied to. I am outraged and very angry," the author tweeted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

 

"Here's the story. Astonishing. The Hindu : News / National : ‘Rajasthan police invented plot to keep away Rushdie' http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/..., he said, providing a link to a report in The Hindu.

 

"Don't know who gave orders. And yes I guess the same police who want to arrest Hari, Amitava, Jeet and Ruchir. Disgusting," he added.

 

Rushdie was referring to the writers Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kumar, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi who had read out portions of his banned 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses" at the festival to protest against his absence at the event.

 

After days of speculation about whether he would turn up the festival or not, Rushdie cancelled his plans to attend the event on Friday.

 

The organisers of the festival, now in its fifth year, read out a statement from the Booker Prize winning author, whose proposed visit was opposed by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband and other Muslim groups angered by alleged blasphemous content "The Satanic Verses".

 

"For several days I have made no public comments on this issue at the request of local authorities hoping that they would put in place arrangements to allow me to come and speak.

 

"But I have been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from Mumbai underworld might be on their way to eliminate me. While I have doubts about these intelligence inputs, it would be irresponsible for me to come to the Festival in such circumstances; irresponsible to my family, to the festival audience, to my fellow writers. I will therefore not travel to Jaipur as planned," Rushdie said in the statement.

 

"I hope, however, to be able to participate by video link, at a time to be announced soon. Believe me, I am sorry to be not there in person," the writer added.

 

"Very sad not to be at jaipur. I was told Bombay mafia don issued weapons to 2 hitmen to 'eliminate' me. Will do video link instead. Damn," Rushdie said later on the micro-blogging site Twitter on the same day.

 

This would have been Rushdie's second visit to the Jaipur Literary Festival, billed as the largest literary festival in Asia-Pacific and the most prestigious celebration of national and international literature to be held in India.

 

Later that evening, Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar, read out portions from the banned "Satanic Verses" at the festival to register their protest after Rushdie was forced to pull out of the event. However, they had to cut short the reading when the organisers asked them not to go ahead. Later, Thayil and Joshi also read out from the book.

 

India was among the first to ban the book, shortly after it was published in 1988.

 

NNN