Lucknow:
Amid the controversy over author Salman Rushdie's India visit, BJP leader Uma Bharti has said that the Congress will be looking to exploit the issue to the hilt to win over Muslims voters in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP leader, who is on a whirlwind tour of Uttar Pradesh, has been attacked by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Digvijaya Singh and Pramod Tiwari among others since party president Nitin Gadkari announced that she would contest from Charkhari constituency in Mahoba district.
Both the parties are now accusing each other of polarising the elections to win votes.
"Salman Rushdie has also made fun of Lord Hanuman in his book The Satanic Verses. If you read the book you will find that he uses satirical language against him.
"But we have never said the book should be banned. An author should be allowed his freedom of expression till he does not try to denigrate somebody," she told reporters.
Ms Bharti said the Congress was making these noises about Rushdie ahead of elections in UP and the ruling party at the Centre wants to appease the Muslims.
"As the Uttar Pradesh elections are on, you never know in what different ways the Congress will exploit Rushdie. He will be used a tasty dish to be served to Muslims in various forms - with salt and with sugar - to win them over," Ms Bharti said.
After weeks of speculation, Rushdie had made it official yesterday that he is not coming to India citing threat to him from the Mumbai underworld. He was supposed to attend the Jaipur LitFest.
The BJP has already targeted the Congress for announcing 4.5 per cent quota to minorities within the 27 per cent OBC category.
On its part, the Congress has maintained that it has nothing to do with the Rushdie issue and the rules should prevail.
She maintained that even in the case of celebrated painter MF Husain, who lived in self-exile till his death recently, her party had never said he should not return to India.
Mr Husain had drawn the ire of Hindu right-wing forces over her controversial paintings of Hindu goddesses.