P Chidambaram termed the ban on Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses as 'wrong'.
A day after former Finance Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram
termed the ban on Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses as 'wrong', the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked why it took him 27 years to admit it and advised the opposition party to be a "little tolerant".
"The question arises that after close to nearly three decades why was there a need to do so (to admit the mistake).
If it is reflective of Congress' thinking, then one needs to see it in a larger perspective and everyone, which includes Congress particularly, needs to be a little tolerant," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.
He, however, said caution needed to be exercised by all as "Constitution puts reasonable restrictions on the freedom of expression".
Noted author Amitav Ghosh said he was glad that Mr Chidambaram, who was Minister of State for Home in the Rajiv Gandhi government when it had banned Mr Rushdie's book in October 1988, accepted that it was a wrong decision.
Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan said he agreed with Mr Chidambaram entirely. "These kinds of books are literary pieces and in my view there is no occasion to ban such book," he said.
Congress leader Manish Tewari said the former Union minister was absolutely correct and that time had come for the country to move beyond proscribing books and other creative material. "We need to create tolerant ethos in this country," he said.
"I have no hesitation in saying that the ban on Salman Rushdie's book was wrong," Mr Chidambaram had said while speaking at the Times LitFest on Saturday.