'Congress hand stained with Muslims blood', says Salman Khurshid

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid has said that his party does have blood on its hands and that people should learn from that mistake.

Pushed to the wall with a point-blank query from an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student at a programme as to how the Congress will wash off the blood stains of Muslims on its hands, he said, "It is a political question. There is blood on our hands. I am also a part of the Congress so let me say it, we have blood on our hands. Is this why you are trying to tell us that if someone attacks you, we must not come forward to protect you?"

"I am telling you. We are ready to show the blood on our hands so that you realise that you too must not get blood on your hands. If you attack them, you are the ones who would get stains on your hands," he said at an AMU event on Sunday.

"Learn something from our past. Learn from our history and don't create such situations for yourself where if you come back to Aligarh Muslim University after 10 years, you find no one like yourself putting out questions," he said.

The student had asked, "The first amendment was in 1948. Then there was Presidential order in 1950... after that Hasanpura, Maliana, Muzaffarnagar and there is a long list of riots under the Congress regime. Then there was the opening of the gates of Babri Masjid, placing idols inside and then the demolition of Babri Masjid while the Congress was in power at the Centre. Congress has Muslims' blood on its hands. With what words will you wash them off?".

Later, talking to media post his remark, Khurshid said that he was defending the Congress party.

He said, "I am not a representative of the Congress party, I am the Congress party. I was defending Congress party. What I said I will continue to say, I made the statement as a human being."

The former Union minister was the chief guest at the annual function of BR Ambedkar Hall of the AMU.

PTI