NEW DELHI : Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad today clarified that he had not compared terrorist outfit IS with the RSS and said his speech was quoted out of context.
Speaking during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha after Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi raised the issue of his having compared RSS with IS at a Delhi conference on Saturday, Mr Azad denied the charge and said his speech was quoted out of context. In support of his contention, he read out excerpts of his speech and submitted a proof of the complete recording of the conference.
“I never compared RSS with IS. This is the CD of my speech. Leader of the House Arun Jaitley and his other colleagues from the BJP can go through the speech and if anything wrong is found, they can move a privilege motion against me.”
Quoting from the speech, Mr Azad said, “We protest against the IS type of forces in the same measure as we protest outfits like RSS. The fight is not against Hindus and Muslims.
It is a fight of ideology. We are against the narrow fundamentalist mindset, whether it is a Hindu, Muslim or Sikh.” Immediately after Mt Azad’s clarification, Mr Jaitley said he had all respect for Mr Azad but that he had ‘slipped’.
Terming his remark ‘incorrect’, the Leader of the House said Mr Azad should introspect. Earlier in the day, BJP members, including Mr Naqvi, had demanded an apology from the Congress for comparing RSS with IS. (AGENCIES)
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