Congress distances itself from Chidambaram's remarks about Salman Rushdie's book

Congress on Monday distanced itself from former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's statement that the banning of Salman Rushdie's controversial novel 'The Satanic Verses' by the Rajiv Gandhi government was wrong.

Describing Chidambaram' remark as his personal view, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Monday said, "No question of a single person puncturing party's stand. Congress' stand is clear. Today what the country is confronted with is an assault on harmony," he said.

"That is Chidambaram's own view," the former Parliamentary Affairs Minister said while replying to a query.

Chidambaram had on Saturday said the decision of the Rajiv Gandhi government to ban Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' was wrong.

"I have no hesitation in saying that the ban on Salman Rushdie's book was wrong," Chidambaram had said at the Times LitFest in New Delhi.