New Delhi, November 14 (IANS): A petition has been filed with the Delhi High Court asking for an order to stop the publication, circulation and sale of former Union Minister Salman Khurshid’s book for his alleged remarks on Hindutva.

The plea filed by lawyer Vineet Jindal through lawyer Raj Kishor Chaudhary argued that the recently launched book “Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times” written by Khurshid compared Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.

The comment was made in a chapter titled “The Saffron Heaven” on page 113 of the book which reads: “Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were put aside by a robust version of the ‘Hindutva, by all standards, a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years,’ the plea read.

Further, he said that the equivalence of Hinduism with ISIS and Boko Haram is seen as a negative ideology that Hindus follow and that Hinduism is violent, inhuman and oppressive.

Freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) of the Constitution goes hand in hand with reasonable restrictions which may be imposed under Article 19 (2). Thus, in a country like India, which is perpetually on a common powder keg, where religious feelings are deep, where respect for certain public and historical figures is always accompanied by veneration for their status as demigod 9, it doesn’t take much for wickedness to be covered in a toxic community tint based on the book’s content, the medium indicated.

Earlier in a complaint filed with the Delhi Police, Jindal had requested an FIR against Khurshid in the case under 153 153A, 298 and 505 (2) of the IPC which are recognizable and very serious offenses and of take strict legal action.